A 13-year-old girl testified Wednesday in a child sexual abuse trial in Miller County that she recanted allegations of sexual abuse because of concern her family would suffer.
Jared Allen Harper, 34, is accused of abusing the girl while he lived with her mother, her older brother and two younger brothers. Harper is the father of the girl's younger brothers.
Since making the allegations in March 2015, the girl, then 11, has recanted the allegations in a videotaped interview with an investigator working for Harper's defense team, Jason Horton of Texarkana and Jeff Rosenzweig of Little Rock, and in a letter. Earlier this year the girl reaffirmed the allegations. Testimony in the case began Tuesday at the Miller County courthouse.
The girl testified Wednesday afternoon under questioning from Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Black that she felt pressured by her mother to "take back" the allegations. The girl said her mother warned her that Harper, whom she once viewed as a father figure, would no longer be able to pay child support for her younger brothers and that the family could end up living in government housing where the mother was likely to be regularly sexually assaulted. The girl said financial concerns, worries about her young brothers not having a father and a lie her mother allegedly told her made her willing to recant the allegations. The girl said her mother told her Harper had passed a polygraph but she later learned Harper had never taken one.
The girl testified that Harper began sexually abusing her when she was 6 or 7. The girl said Harper called it "daddy time" and advised her not to tell anyone what they were doing although he described it as "normal." The girl said she and Harper, who entered her life when she was a toddler, often showered together. The alleged victim said the showers did not stop until about a year before she confided in her older brother, now 17, about the alleged abuse.
The girl and her mother both testified Wednesday that the girl's mother did not want the girl to continue showering with Harper when she reached the age of 9 or 10.
"They got in a lot of arguments over it so Jared didn't want to do it in front of her," the alleged victim testified. "I just thought it was normal."
The girl said she and Harper would continue to take showers together when her mother wasn't home. The girl testified that Harper's abuse of her included the use of battery operated sexual aids which belonged to her mother. A forensic serologist from the Arkansas State Crime Lab testified under questioning from Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell that while no genetic profile could be conclusively identified, there was evidence present on one of the devices which came from the genetic profiles of two females.
The alleged victim said Harper treated her differently than her older brother, who often fought with Harper. The girl said her older brother often "went without" and at times didn't have enough clothing.
The girl's mother testified Wednesday that she only ended her relationship with Harper because she was told by Department of Human Services caseworkers that she could lose her children if she did not. The mother described her relationship with the alleged victim as "strained" and said she didn't feel she had bonded with her daughter when she was a baby.
The mother said she doesn't know whether to believe her daughter's allegations of sexual abuse against Harper or not. Instead of reporting the allegations to law enforcement after her oldest son told her about them, the mother said she called her father, who eventually arranged a meeting with a clergyman, who told her he had to report the alleged abuse.
Under questioning from Black, the mother blamed the prosecutor's office for the difficulties she currently experiences in her relationship with her daughter. The mother said her daughter has become increasingly troublesome since meeting with Black and reaffirming the allegations in March.
When Black asked the mother if her daughter was upset that the mother was meeting with Harper's attorney, the mother responded with anger.
"Yes. She got mad because y'all told her I wasn't taking her side," the mother said. "She's accused me of calling her a liar. I just have my doubts about things. I'm not saying I do believe her and I'm not saying I don't."
The mother admitted that she instructed her children to lie to Department of Human Services caseworkers about a visit Harper made to the family's home while he was under an order to have no contact with the alleged victim, but denied telling Black she wanted the case dismissed because she wants child welfare authorities out of her life. Outside the jury's presence, Circuit Judge Brent Haltom warned the mother not to discuss the case with her daughter after Black brought it to the court's attention that the mother had shown the girl comments on Facebook concerning media coverage of the trial.
The alleged victim was the final witness to testify Wednesday. She is expected to undergo cross- examination by the defense this morning.
Harper is charged with indecency with a child, second-degree sexual assault and rape. The case could be in the jury's hands today or Friday.