GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- After a jury in Grand Rapids found a tutor guilty for having sex with a student, the boy's mother spoke out about what it was like for her son to go through the trial.
It's a painful testimony for any mother to hear. A then-15-year-old at Catholic Central High School, told a courtroom about his relationship with his tutor, Abigail Simon.
Simon, 35, was found guilty on three counts of criminal sexual conduct and one count of accosting a minor for immoral purposes.
"He had to go through all kinds of testimony between him and Ms. Simon," The boy's mother said.
During the victim's testimony, he gave details about his relationship with Simon, saying, "I performed oral on her and we had regular sex."
The victim's mother said her son showed courage throughout the trial while revealing the shocking details.
"The true text messages about what happened between the two of them---it's hard for me to talk about it and I'm a grown woman. I would've had a hard time going through that testimony," she said.
Text messages put on display for the people inside the courtroom to see, show Simon sent the boy a picture of her in lingerie. The now 17-year-old, told the jury about a text he received from Simon while he visited his sister in the hospital.
"You say, you're going to come back and do it, right?" the prosecutor asked the victim.
He replied, "Yes."
"And, then she says, 'I need my lesson rough and tough.' Is that what she told you?" the prosecutor asked.
The victim replied, "Yes."
"She says, 'Oh yeah, I may need an earlier flight to get back for that," the prosecutor said.
As for the picture of Simon wearing lingerie, she told the jury the boy forced her to buy it and that he later snuck a photograph of her wearing it.
In September, the victim initially claimed that he forced Simon to have sex with him. While he later said it was all a lie to protect his tutor, Simon's attorney told FOX 17 the boy's initial statement was true.
"He's the golden child and that's the way he's been treated right from the beginning," defense attorney, Michael Manley said. "That's the problem that we have now in this society--people get away with things."
Manley said while the boy has admitted to lying, he doesn't expect him to face any consequences or perjury. The victim's mother said Manley should be ashamed of himself for trying to "turn it all around" on a teenager.
"No, he's not a golden boy," she said. "He loves the Lord--he believes in God, and our family knows what's true. I thank God that truth was shown today."
Simon will be back in court on Jan. 6.
