After hearing testimony from the alleged victim and her mom, Judge Michael Kulling found probable cause that Jon David Wattenburger could be bound over for trial court arraignment on the charges of child sexual abuse.
Watternburger is being represented by Robert Wyatt and the state was represented by Assistant District Attorney Debra Vincent. Tuesday morning, the victim’s mother testified about the relationship between the defendant and victim and gave background information on the victim.
She was cross-examined by Wyatt who asked her one single question. He asked when the child made a disclosure of sexual abuse.
Vincent objected to the question and Kulling sustained her objection. Vincent called the final witness to the stand, the minor. She told the court what she experienced when she was 13, she was asleep at Wattenburger’s residence when she said she was “jolted awake.” She described to the court in detail what woke her up.
She also told the court what she experienced around 5-years-old until she was 10. She said she would go on car rides with Wattenburger when more things would happen. She then said afterwards the two of them would go to Walmart to buy something. Wyatt cross-examined the victim. He asked her questions about her disclosure of abuse, if she learned about safe touches as a child and asked if Vincent prepared her to testify.
The victim previously told officers the room where she was sleeping was dark, Wyatt brought that up and insinuated someone else could have touched her. She told the court she felt Wattenburger go back to his part of the couch when she woke up, “So I knew it was him,” she said. Wyatt then went over the driving incident and asked if she expected Wattenburger to hold onto her waist to keep her safe, she replied “no.”
The minor described what Wattenburger allegedly did during the drives as “belly rubs” and she told the court what that entailed. Ultimately Kulling found probable cause that Wattenburger had committed the crimes he is charged with. He will appear for trial court arraignment at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 24.
