Man accused of having sex with 15-year-old ordered to trial

A 15-year-old girl on Thursday in court accused a 37-year-old Lawrence man of having sex with her without her consent at a Lawrence residence in September.

The girl took the witness stand in a preliminary hearing on the aggravated indecent liberties charge the man faces. She said she had sneaked out of a women’s shelter with a friend and met the man when they got into a car driven by another man they met downtown.

She alleged that the two had a sexual encounter at the house and that she told him she was 15. The girl said the man initially told her he was 22 and that he was a famous football player. But she testified that he later told her he had a daughter her age, so she suspected he was much older. The girl said she then became uncomfortable and told him no but that he had sex with her anyway.

The girl said she later returned to the shelter and eventually told a staff member there she had been raped.

Lawrence police said the girl alleged that the man sexually abused her at the south-central Lawrence residence, and they arrested the man days later.

District Judge Sally Pokorny ordered the man to face a trial in the case and scheduled an arraignment for 4 p.m. Dec. 8.

The Journal-World generally does not identify sex-crime suspects unless they are convicted.