Porter County courts
By James D. Wolf Jr. Post-Tribune correspondent July 30, 2012 4:44PM
Updated: September 1, 2012 6:14AM
The 1998 state champion wrestler in the 140-pound class is on trial this week, facing two charges of child molesting.
Opening arguments began Monday in Porter Superior for Portage High School graduate Jason Tabor, 33, who faces up to 20 years on Class A felony child molesting and up to eight years on Class C felony child molesting.
Deputy prosecutor Trista Hudson said in her opening statement that over a weekend in March 2011, Tabor took advantage three times of a 13-year-old girl’s crush on him, starting when he fell asleep with her on a couch while he and the family watched television.
Defense attorney Larry Rogers said her family believes the girl is a pathological liar and that she changed stories she told to police.
Rogers said the case resembles a “Jerry Springer” episode where the mother is a stripper with seven kids by four men, where the alleged victim bounced between homes, where Tabor was a friend with benefits with the mother and where the girl was taken out of school for chatting with older men online.
The state is to present its case Tuesday, and the defense will present its case Thursday.
