AUGUSTA, Maine — The trial of a Sidney man charged with sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl he was baby-sitting has started.
Eric Bard has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges including rape and sexual exploitation in connection with alleged assaults in 2011 and 2012 that prosecutors say he recorded with a cellphone.
The prosecutor and the defense attorney both warned jurors in opening statements Tuesday that they would see disturbing images.
But Bard's attorney, Ronald Bourget, told the jury that his client "suffers from pervasive developmental disorder" and has a lower intelligence which made it impossible for him to understand his actions were wrong.
The Kennebec Journal reports that the prosecutor countered that the 24-year-old Bard knows what he did was wrong.
The trial is expected to resume Wednesday.