Published: August 20, 2008 12:00 am         

Trial opens in rape of 14 year old girl

A Garfield County jury heard testimony Tuesday from a teenager who said she was raped in 2005 by a 51-year-old Enid man.

Michael Jay Showalter, who was 48 when the alleged attack happened, is charged with first-degree rape, forcible sodomy and manufacturing child pornography. He was charged Sept. 9, 2005, three days after the alleged attack at a home on South Jackson, where he was staying as he remodeled it.

The seven-woman, five-man jury heard testimony from the alleged victim, now 17, as well as opening statements from prosecution and the defense. An audio recording allegedly made by Showalter also was played for jurors.

During his opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Mike Fields said the alleged victim had been friends with Showalter and worked with him as he remodeled the house.

Fields said Showalter ask-ed the girl, who Fields said was pregnant at 12 and gave birth when she was 13, to rub his back and feet before he raped and sodomized her while holding a knife to her throat. Fields said Showalter also took Polaroid pictures and taped the rape with a cassette player.

Fields said a sexual assault examination showed trauma to the girl, and swabs taken during the exam had Showalter’s DNA.

He said the girl was “scared and fearing for her safety” and did as she was told.

Oklahoma City Attorney Larry Monard told the jury he wanted them to “particularly watch” for certain items presented as evidence during the trial.

“This young lady is very streetwise and not your typical 14-year-old girl,” he said.

He said certain evidence was taken in the case but not analyzed, and the girl changed answers during interviews with police and during a preliminary hearing.

During her testimony, the girl kept her arms crossed and often kept her head down.

She said she and Showalter met up on Sept. 6, 2005, to continue working on the house. She said as they were waiting for the homeowner to arrive with instructions, Showalter be-gan watching a “‘Girls Gone Wild’ porno.”

At first, she had trouble remembering what had happened but said, “I remember him telling me he was tired of me saying no. That’s when he locked all of the doors.”

Fields asked the girl how she felt at the time when she said she couldn’t remember certain details.

“I felt scared,” she sobbed. “I was scared of him.”

The girl said Showalter also posed her and took pictures during the incident, in addition to recording audio.

The recording was played for the jury, and, although some portions were inaudible, a man’s voice and the girl’s voice could be heard in other portions.

The girl can be heard saying she doesn’t know how to talk dirty and the man telling her, “Oh, come on.”

On the recording, screams can be heard from the girl, along with heavy breathing. At one point the girl is heard crying and asking: “Why are you making me do this?”

The recording lasts for about 30 minutes.

Fields asked the girl about some of the comments she made on the tape, if they were her comments or not.

“No, he was whispering in my ear, telling what to say,” she said.

The girl said after Show-alter raped her, she told him she had to go pick her son up from day care. When she went inside to get her son, she said she told people at the day care what happened and Enid Police Department was called.

“I was scared. I was hurt. I didn’t know what to do,” she said.

The trial will resume at 9 a.m. today.