Trial starts for Justin Erbacher, accused of child molestation

Carol Ferguson

Trial starts for Justin Erbacher, accused of molesting four young girls over a period of years. The case began with emotional testimony from a 12-year-old alleged victim who was a foster child in the Erbacher home.

The trial started Thursday morning with opening statements. Erbacher is accused of molesting three girls who were foster children in the Erbacher home and a girl who was a family friend.

Erbacher was arrested in April 2006 -- at the time he was 22 years old. The alleged victims were then nine, ten, 11 and 14 years old.

The victim who testified on Thursday told the jury Erbacher molested her many times. The girl said when she about five, she told her foster mother -- but the mother didn't believe her.

The girl said she finally told a school worker Erbacher was molesting her, and that's when the investigation started. The girl later also reported Erbacher's father -- Stephan Erbacher -- had also molested her many times since she was about five years old.

The child said she told the elder Erbacher she wanted that to stop. He told her, if she told anyone -- he would kill himself. Stephan Erbacher committed suicide soon after he came under investigation.

The girl said Justin Erbacher molested her at his apartment, and before that at his parents' homes.

In opening statements, prosecutor Kim Marshall said investigators collected Justin Erbacher's semen from places where the girls said the molestations happened.

Marshall says the victims who's a family friend had a crush on Erbacher. Marshall says that girl is known to lie, and because of that -- and due to her health problems -- that child was the "perfect victim."

In his opening statement, defense attorney Michael Webb said when the foster child reported the incidents to the school worker, she told detectives which day Erbacher had last molested her. But Webb says they can prove Erbacher was in Sacramento on that day.

Webb says the girls have changed their stories on what happened, when, and with whom. He says they've accused other adults of molestation -- and the defense will bring one family to court to deny that.

Webb says it will be up to the jury to decide who's telling the truth. Are the girls not remembering? Telling partial truth? And what can be proven?

The prosecution says the girls tried to tell the foster mother and a sister about the molestation, but they weren't believed -- and the abuse continued.

Erbacher faces nine felony molestation charges. Testimony in the case is expected to continue next week.