Teen Accuses Stepfather of Sexual Abuse

Jennifer Childs, an aspiring Simi Valley pop singer charged with trying to kill her stepfather, testified Thursday that her stepfather touched her breasts and kissed her during a vacation several years ago in Washington, D.C.

Childs, 19, is charged along with her mother, Eileen Childs, 37, with arson and attempted murder for allegedly setting fire to Larry Childs’ bed and then using a baseball bat to repeatedly hit him inside the family’s home in March.

Authorities believe the women were motivated by Larry Childs’ life insurance policy, which they say is worth more than $1.4 million. Larry Childs, 57, survived and is in the process of divorcing Eileen Childs.

“I’ve always been scared of my dad,” Childs said of her stepfather during questioning by her attorney, Jean Farley.

After spending Wednesday telling jurors her stepfather was wildly moody and violent, Jennifer Childs testified Thursday for the first time that Larry Childs had made sexual advances toward her.

The teenager said she and her stepfather took a vacation together when she was 12 or 13, so she could see the White House. The trip lasted one or two weeks, she said.

During the trip, Jennifer Childs said, her stepfather would ask her every night to take her clothes off but that she repeatedly rebuffed him.

“I think after that he was always mad at me since I kept saying ‘no’ [during that trip],” she testified.

Jennifer Childs told jurors she never revealed the assault to her mother, citing fears of what would become of the family and because she “didn’t want to be the one to ruin everything.”

“He told me it was a father-daughter secret,” she testified of her stepfather’s warning to her at the time of the alleged abuse.

Sometime after the trip, however, Jennifer Childs, known in the pop singing world as Jenni Childs, told two friends.

Ma’rya Mahome testified Thursday that Jennifer Childs told her of the alleged sexual abuse two years ago.

The testimony on the alleged abuse is significant because defense attorneys want to show jurors that Jennifer and Eileen Childs were the victims during the predawn incident on March 25.

The defendants, both of whom remain in custody pending the outcome of the trial, contend they were acting in self-defense when Larry Childs awoke in his burning bed, left his bedroom and then allegedly attacked the pair in a hallway.

In earlier testimony, Larry Childs denied attacking his family or sexually abusing his stepdaughter.

During questioning by prosecutor Lisa Lee earlier Thursday, Jennifer Childs testified that her stepfather was screaming “Help me!” “Oh my God!” and “Fire!” after fleeing his bedroom.

The trial will resume this morning, with Eileen Childs expected to take the stand.