The Webster teen who accused her former basketball coach of forcibly raping her inside a school locker room testified in court on Monday.
The alleged victim, who Spectrum News is not identifying, identified Kali Watkins as her alleged abuser. Watkins, 42, was a coach and teacher at Webster Schroeder High School. He’s charged with first and second-degree rape.
The alleged incident took place in 2017, when the girl was 14-years-old.
The alleged victim testified that Watkins lured her into a school locker room before a game, where he raped her. She said the coach held his hand over her mouth and it "was like a nightmare where you wanted to scream but couldn’t.”
She described how she dreaded going to school, and why she didn’t tell anyone out of fear of how her parents would respond to the alleged rape.
The judge granted the defense’s objection to testimony of an alleged suicide attempt due to “relevancy and prejudicial content."
The defense, meanwhile, challenged the teen by cross-examining statements she made to Webster police, a forensic investigator and grand jury. They also asked her about drug use, attendance, grades, outings with her basketball team and group text messages following the assault.
In particular, a group text where the alleged victim wished Watkins a "Happy Birthday" along with her teammates.
The defense called for a mistrial after the teen referred to a biopsy as a surgery following a physical exam due to the alleged assault. However, since the biopsy had nothing to do with the alleged assault, they were worried it tainted the jury prejudicially.
The judge denied that request, but agreed to a mutual stipulation by both parties that it would be explained to the jury.
The defense previously called for a mistrial on Friday when a witness used Watkins’ name when she wasn’t supposed to. But that was also denied.
So far, only three witnesses have testified for the prosecution. There could be two or three more, and the defense has another five.
Court is scheduled to resume Tuesday at 1:15 p.m.