CAMARILLO : Girl Testifies in Trial of Teacher

A Camarillo teen-ager testified Thursday that she willingly engaged in sexual conduct with her church teacher but stopped short of intercourse because of her fear that she would become pregnant.

The 14-year-old girl testified for a full day in the child molestation trial of Robert C. Rose. She cried at times as she described how their relationship developed from friendship to romance, starting with a kiss exchanged in the recreation hall at St. Mary Magdalen Church.

At the time, Rose, 49, was director of the church’s youth religion education program. He is charged with 10 counts of child molestation for incidents alleged to have occurred between January and April, 1993.

The girl testified that she met Rose in September, 1992, and became increasingly fond of him as he took an interest in her life. Soon he was calling her on the phone four times a week, she said.

“He was more like a teen-ager,” she said, when asked by Deputy Dist. Atty. Saundra T. Brewer what she thought of Rose. “He was an adult that we could understand and that we could talk to in our way.”

The girl said that on three occasions, Rose parked his car behind a building while giving her a ride home from church and they fondled each other. She testified that she did not resist Rose’s sexual advances.

“I liked what was happening,” she said. “I never thought it was wrong.”

She said she finally got scared when Rose drove her to his work, undressed her and himself, and began kissing and touching her.

“I wasn’t ready to go further,” she testified. “I felt like it might have gone (further), and I wasn’t ready.”

Superior Court Judge Ken W. Riley adjourned court early after concluding that several hours on the witness stand had tired the girl. She is scheduled to resume her testimony Tuesday.