Post by WaTcHeR on Feb 10, 2006 13:13:12 GMT -5
Officer Rick Beal
02/09/2006 - BOISE - A former Boise police officer accused of sexual battery of a minor, spent a third day in front of a jury in Boise.
Rick Beal turned himself into police in August 2005, after being accused of molesting a 17 year old girl while on duty.
Thursday in the courtroom, Detective Shellie Strolberg, who interviewed the victim, testified. Strolberg says the victim waited two months before coming forward, which she says is typical in cases like this. She has interviewed approximately 200 victims of sexual abuse and says 98% don't go to police right away.
She described the girl as "attention seeking" but says she has no reason to doubt the girl's story. She says the girl is typical of many victims of sexual abuse, including being immature, not well kept, and coming from a single parent home.
The defense questioned Strolberg about the lack of evidence, asking why she did not attempt to get fingerprints from Beal's gun belt, or hair samples from the couch where the molestation allegedly happened. Strolberg said she wouldn't expect to find evidence two months after an incident.
Phone records show several phone calls back and forth from Beal and the victim. There were 11 phone calls between the two before the molestation was alleged to have happened on May 9th, 2005. There were four phone calls after May 9th, including a seven minute call, just minutes after the alleged molestation.
Friday, the court will see a videotaped interview Detective Strolberg conducted with the victim. Strolberg says normally victims' interviews aren't video taped, but they took extra caution in this case because the suspect was a police officer.