MONROE - Video of an 8-year-old girl using dolls to recreate repeated sexual assaults was screened during a preliminary hearing Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 18, for a Brodhead man.
Antonio Gonzalez Robles, 26, stood mute on felony charges of sexual assault and child enticement in Green County Circuit Court, after the judge found probable cause for the case to move forward.
The criminal complaint alleges he had vaginal and anal intercourse with the 8-year-old girl at a residence in the N3100 block of County OK in the Town of Decatur. The assaults reportedly started in 2008, about a month before the girl's fourth birthday, and continued regularly until this summer.
"I thought he was a good guy, but he's really not. He's a bad guy," the girl said in a videotaped interview with an investigator.
Defense attorney Miguel A. Michel objected to the admission of the video as evidence on the grounds that the investigator didn't spell out to the girl that lying to the court is punishable by law.
Judge Thomas Vale denied the motion, ruling that the discussion the investigator had with the girl about telling the truth and telling lies was sufficient.
"Nor do I think an 8-year-old would understand an oath," Vale said. The girl indicated "in an age-appropriate" manner that she understood the difference between truths and lies, he added.
She told the interviewer, "Lying is when you say something wrong."
The girl testified matter-of-factly to repeated assaults by Gonzalez Robles, using the words "boobs", "privates" and "bottom" to explain what he allegedly did to her.
She said the sexual acts happened in rooms around the house and once in the barn while her mother was elsewhere washing dishes, cooking, doing laundry or watching TV. Each time, he "dragged" her to a bed or behind a hay loft and held her feet and arms to keep her from getting away.
The girl's mother testified in court that she never saw Gonzalez Robles assault her daughter. She found out about the alleged assaults only recently, while at a laundromat.
"I was talking with her while doing laundry," said the woman.
For weeks, the girl had been acting out, and her attitude toward her mother "skyrocketed." The mother suspected the girl wanted to tell her something, and when she confronted her about it, the girl broke down and started talking about the assaults.
"She just started shaking and crying. Her whole body was shaking," the mother said.
Gonzalez Robles has denied having sexual contact with the girl, according to Julie Blumer, a detective with the Green County Sheriff's Department who investigated the case.
The state is seeking lifetime supervision of Gonzalez Robles as a serious sex offender. His next court appearance is Oct. 2 for a pre-trial conference.
Antonio Gonzalez Robles, 26, stood mute on felony charges of sexual assault and child enticement in Green County Circuit Court, after the judge found probable cause for the case to move forward.
The criminal complaint alleges he had vaginal and anal intercourse with the 8-year-old girl at a residence in the N3100 block of County OK in the Town of Decatur. The assaults reportedly started in 2008, about a month before the girl's fourth birthday, and continued regularly until this summer.
"I thought he was a good guy, but he's really not. He's a bad guy," the girl said in a videotaped interview with an investigator.
Defense attorney Miguel A. Michel objected to the admission of the video as evidence on the grounds that the investigator didn't spell out to the girl that lying to the court is punishable by law.
Judge Thomas Vale denied the motion, ruling that the discussion the investigator had with the girl about telling the truth and telling lies was sufficient.
"Nor do I think an 8-year-old would understand an oath," Vale said. The girl indicated "in an age-appropriate" manner that she understood the difference between truths and lies, he added.
She told the interviewer, "Lying is when you say something wrong."
The girl testified matter-of-factly to repeated assaults by Gonzalez Robles, using the words "boobs", "privates" and "bottom" to explain what he allegedly did to her.
She said the sexual acts happened in rooms around the house and once in the barn while her mother was elsewhere washing dishes, cooking, doing laundry or watching TV. Each time, he "dragged" her to a bed or behind a hay loft and held her feet and arms to keep her from getting away.
The girl's mother testified in court that she never saw Gonzalez Robles assault her daughter. She found out about the alleged assaults only recently, while at a laundromat.
"I was talking with her while doing laundry," said the woman.
For weeks, the girl had been acting out, and her attitude toward her mother "skyrocketed." The mother suspected the girl wanted to tell her something, and when she confronted her about it, the girl broke down and started talking about the assaults.
"She just started shaking and crying. Her whole body was shaking," the mother said.
Gonzalez Robles has denied having sexual contact with the girl, according to Julie Blumer, a detective with the Green County Sheriff's Department who investigated the case.
The state is seeking lifetime supervision of Gonzalez Robles as a serious sex offender. His next court appearance is Oct. 2 for a pre-trial conference.