A Nebraska man accused of raping his 13-year-old foster daughter has claimed that he actually got her pregnant using a syringe.
Brandon Weathers denied having sex with the teenager and said he helped her become pregnant because it was something she “dreamed of”.
The 39-year-old has been charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child and could face 30
years in prison, reported Omaha.com.
years in prison, reported Omaha.com.
“We’re not here for first-degree sexual assault of a child. We’re here for child abuse,” Weathers, who is representing himself in the trial, told the courtroom.
But Brenda Beadle, the chief deputy Douglas County attorney and prosecutor in the case, described his claims as “cockamamie”.
During the hearing, Beadle explained that the alleged victim had a rough childhood before arriving at the Weathers’ home in April 2014.
Weathers and his then-wife, LaQuela Chism Weathers, also fostered the girl’s 10-year-old sister.
The girl – now aged 15 – told the court on Tuesday that the abuse occurred while living at the Weathers’ house in Omaha in the two months she was there, and for four months afterwards.
She said Weathers subjected her to oral and vaginal sex “more times than she could count,” Omaha.com reported.
Their relationship was revealed after the girl told her younger sister at summer camp that she wasn’t a virgin anymore and revealed she had sex with “Mr Brandon”.
A camp counselor who overheard the conversation alerted Child Protective Services, who removed her and her younger sister from the home.
She testified in court that she initially lied about their relationship to authorities because she “loved” Weathers.
The girl discovered she was pregnant in November 2014, but suffered a miscarriage shortly after. Weathers also reportedly tried to force the victim into taking a morning-after pill, but she refused.
Authorities, who were already investigating Weathers, collected tissue and DNA tests showed that he was the father, Beadle said.
But Weathers has denied having sex with the girl and instead told the courtroom that his foster daughter had a crush on him.
“I helped her indulge a fantasy — it was very stupid on my part,” Weathers told jurors.“We never had sex. Did we use a syringe? We did. She even told me what her menstrual cycle was. She told me, and we timed it perfectly. But that doesn’t fit the narrative of the county attorney and the police.”
Weathers was allowed to adopt despite having three felony convictions and serving two prison stints in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Kathie Osterman explained state regulations allow felons to become foster parents if more than five years pass from a conviction in certain crimes such as burglary and theft.
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