March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Testimony begins in civil lawsuit over sexual abuse> Benton man recalls life of pain, betrayal

SKOWHEGAN — Shawn Giroux, now 25, was 8 years old when he met John Choate of North New Portland. They became friends, Choate teaching the child outdoor skills on the Appalachian Trail and allowing Giroux to ride his motorcycle.

By the time Giroux was 10, Choate was sexually molesting him regularly, convincing him that the abuse was a natural act and threatening him to keep their secret.

Choate, a schoolteacher from Massachusetts, later was convicted of the molestations, and for a while Giroux felt safe. But before Choate left Giroux’s life, he introduced the boy to Robert Lee of New Vineyard. Lee and Giroux also became friends. Lee repaired small engines, a hobby the boy enjoyed. The pair went snowmobiling, hunting and did odd jobs together.

Lee, now of Oakland, was in Somerset County Superior Court Monday, the defendant in a civil suit filed by Giroux. In the suit, Giroux claims he was damaged by Lee when the man Giroux came to see as a father figure allegedly also began sexually molesting him 11 years ago.

Lee’s attorney, John O’Donnell, said his client never abused Giroux and that the suit was brought purely for monetary gain.

For most of the day Monday, Shawn Giroux told his side of the story to the jury of three women and seven men; a story that began with the first abuse before he was 10 years old, continued through a childhood he said was filled with betrayal and pain, and eventually delved into Giroux’s teen-age years filled with marijuana abuse and crime.

By the time Giroux was 17, he was in a rehab center in Waterville, where he finally opened up about his abusive childhood and was advised to confront his abusers and hold them accountable.

Giroux is a thin young man with shoulder-length hair and a thin mustache. He is pale and speaks in a flat monotone — a common trait of abused children, according to expert testimony Monday.

Giroux, who grew up in Winslow and now lives in Benton with his wife and 1-year-old daughter, testified that his father had left him when he was 2 and all contact was lost by the time he was 8. Raised with his mother and two older sisters, Giroux said he pined for a life with a dad, a life he watched and envied in his friends.

After his experiences with Choate, Giroux said he was happy with his new friendship with Lee. “I enjoyed myself. He had lots of patience and showed me how to do lots of things. I liked him. I trusted him. I loved him. He was a father figure,” he testified.

Giroux said that when Lee began dating his mother “I couldn’t have been happier. It seemed like the family I never had was coming together.” Giroux turned 14 and testified he was happier than he had ever been in his life.

But then Giroux said the abuse began. He testified in graphic and painful detail, sometimes reduced to sobs on the witness stand, about four incidents that involved touching and oral sex.

“I was scared, angry and very hurt. I just closed my eyes and prayed for it to be over. I didn’t even dare ask him to stop,” he said, crying. Because of the incidents of abuse, Giroux testified, “I don’t know what it’s like to be a normal kid.”

Lee shook his head “no” throughout Giroux’s testimony.

When pressed by attorney O’Donnell why Giroux was afraid of Lee, the young man said: “Look at the size of him compared to me,” referring to Lee’s large build compared to Giroux’s slight frame. “Imagine what size I was when I was 14.” Giroux testifed that Lee often talked about his Vietnam combat experiences and Giroux was very afraid of retaliation.

But Giroux said when his mother announced she was going to marry Lee, he finally told his family about the abuse. To Giroux, the unthinkable happened next. No one believed him, he said. His mother married Lee and Giroux was forced to live in the same house with the man he had accused of abusing him.

Giroux said that by now he was growing up. One day, when Lee put his hand near his lap and asked, “Can’t we be better buddies?” Giroux simply said no, and Lee never touched him again. Giroux testified that the abuse began in 1984 and continued for about a year.

In 1989, after Giroux received treatment which included family therapy, Giroux testified, his mother confronted Lee about the abuse and the couple divorced.

O’Donnell hammered at Giroux during cross-examination, often referring to specific dates and asking Giroux if those dates were accurate. When Giroux testified he could not remember specific dates, O’Donnell asked if his adolescent marijuana use had impaired his memory.

Tara Levine, formerly a clinical therapist at Mid Maine Medical Center’s Adolescent Recovery Program which treated Giroux in 1989, testified that Giroux’s drug use was his way of avoiding thinking about the trauma of abuse. She testified that it was common for victims to wait years before reporting abuse because they “run the risk of losing their semblance of family.”

Testimony will continue today and Lee is expected to take the stand in his defense.


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