An alleged victim of childhood sexual abuse testified Tuesday morning in the Stark County Courthouse against a male relative accused of committing the crime.
Gregory Paul Decker, 53, of Dickinson, listened silently as his female relative, now 25, answered questions relating to the alleged molestation that occurred in her home when she was around 6 years old.
Decker is facing two charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child, a Class AA felony, which carries the possibility of life in prison. He was initially charged Jan. 1 with sexually abusing a 6-year-old female relative "five or six" times in 2015, according to his court documents.
After hearing testimony on Tuesday, Southwest District Judge Dann Greenwood denied a motion made by Decker's attorney to suppress state's evidence of a Dickinson police interrogation video that shows Decker readily confessing to both crimes during an interview with Cpl. Brandon Stockie.
Greenwood did not decide on another motion, made on the defendant's behalf, to dismiss the charge on the grounds of an expired statute of limitations. The judge said he's taking the matter under advisement.
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The alleged victim who appeared Tuesday said she was initially contacted by Stockie as he was investigating the other accusation.
She stated in court testimony that the abuse ended after she told her mother about the molestation, which she alleged happened about 10 different times, and was later told by her mother that the family had "dealt with" the issue.
Stockie also testified and said his first contact with the alleged victim, which occurred on Jan. 4, is the first time the crime had been brought to the attention of Dickinson police.
