MARSHALL - Witness testimony continued Thursday in Lyon County District Court in the trial of Cottonwood resident Gerald Gould. Gould, 69, is facing multiple charges of criminal sexual conduct.
During Thursday's proceedings, testimony for both the prosecution and the defense was completed. Gould was called to the stand in his own defense. Closing arguments and jury deliberations are set to begin today.
Gould is pleading innocent to three counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct charges and four counts of second degree criminal sexual conduct charges. A complaint alleges Gould sexually abused two girls in Lyon County in incidents occurring between 2000 and 2008. Both girls were younger than 16 at the time of the abuse, the complaint alleges.
During testimony for the prosecution on Thursday morning, members of the jury watched a total of four video recordings of interviews conducted with the alleged abuse victims. Investigator Tony Rolling of the Lyon County Sheriff's Department conducted three of the interviews after initial reports of sexual abuse were made. Rolling testified Thursday that one of the girls had appeared reluctant to talk about alleged abuse, and a second interview was held with her. He said the fourth recorded interview was conducted in October 2011, this time between the girl and a forensic interviewer with the Child's Voice advocacy center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Other witnesses for the prosecution Thursday included Gould's ex-wife, a therapist who was counseling one of the alleged victims and a representative of the National Child Protection Training Center, who provided information on how children respond to traumatic events like sexual assault.
The defense called two witnesses on Thursday afternoon, including Gould's daughter and Gould himself. During testimony, Gould denied having any sexual contact with either of the alleged victims. Gould also testified that he was working long hours as a truck driver during the time period in which the abuse was alleged to have taken place, and that he had physical ailments that would have made assault difficult.
Trial proceedings will continue this morning, with closing arguments from the prosecution and defense. After closing arguments, the case will be decided by jurors.