GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The former Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School tutor charged with criminal sexual conduct involving a student has now taken the stand to testify in her own trial.
Abigail Simon, 35, is accused having an ongoing sexual relationship with a teen who was 15 at the time, and is 17 now.
When questioned by her defense attorney Simon said, “He wouldn’t let me get rid of him.”
She testified that the teen forced her to have sex with him.
Before Simon testified, a detective with the Grand Rapids Police Department took the stand. The prosecution played the interrogation tape. On it, detective Amy Lowrie questioned Simon. The exchange went like this:
Detective: Who initiated it?
Simon: I mean, I- I … we never actually had. We never had sex.
Detective: I know you had sex. He told me, and I could read the text messages. That’s not a question whether you guys had sex or not. I want to know who initiated it. Who asked who to do what?
Simon: I’m not answering that. I – I don’t know what your definitely is.
Detective: Then tell me what your definition is then. What kind of sexual contact did you have. If you didn’t
have actual, full on intercourse, then what did you… (tape cuts off)
The prosecutor said to the detective, “Alright, at that point what happened?”
The detective replied, “The defendant ended the interview.”
Prior to today, the prosecution in the case has gone over dozens of the thousands of text messages allegedly exchanged between the woman and the teen, arguing that Simon manipulated the teen, who said he was a virgin at the time. The defense has tried to counter that strategy by painting Simon as the actual victim in the case, arguing that the teen–who stands 6’3″–used his brute strength to push her around and force her to have sex with him.
Several of Simon’s friends have also testified in the trial, questioned about their text messages to and from Simon, and what they knew, and when they knew it about who she was dating.
FOX 17’s Darren Cunningham is in court covering the trial, and will have live reports with the latest.
