Former Saline resident Brian Bowlby on trial for sex abuse
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The jury trial of a former Eldorado resident, Brian K. Bowlby, 37, is under way in Saline County. Bowlby is charged with 19 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, stemming from incidents that took place between 2001 and 2003.
Jury selection took place Wednesday morning, and attorneys gave their opening statements at 2 p.m.
Assistant State's Attorney Eva Walker gave opening statements for the prosecution. Walker contended Bowlby sexually abused a family member who lived with him in Eldorado, starting when the girl was 6 or 7 years old, and ending when she was 11 or 12 years old.
"He was supposed to be her protector, but instead was her molester and tormenter," said Walker.
Bowlby's defense attorney, Lowell Tison, then gave his opening statement. He advised the jury not to make up their minds until all the evidence has been presented.
"Things aren't always what they seem," said Tison.
The first witness Walker called to the stand was a 17-year-old female prosecutors identified as the victim of the abuse. The girl testified that she was raped by Bowlby at least once a month between August 2001 and March 2003. She said she did not tell anyone about the abuse because she was scared of Bowlby.
"He told me not to tell anyone," said the 17-year-old. "I was scared he would hurt me."
The 17-year-old revealed the sexual abuse to her mother in Dec. 2010 after her family moved. She said she decided to finally tell someone about the abuse because she was afraid Bowlby was going to abuse other young female family members.
The 17-year-old's mother was also called to the stand. The mother testified she never saw any indication of abuse until her daughter revealed it to her in Dec. 2010, but notified police the morning after her daughter told her of the abuse.
The third witness called to testify Wednesday was another family member of Bowlby, who claims she, too, was sexually abused by the defendant. The witness testified she was molested by Bowlby, starting when she was about 6 years old and ending when she was about 10 years old.
The trial is expected to continue through Thursday afternoon.