Saying "no" to Carl Lane was never enough, the girl said.
He would just keep asking her to submit to his wishes and he'd offer bribes, the girl said.
After she turned 10, he'd offer to give her one of her favorite snacks, beef jerky, extra time on the phone or even cash if only she'd say "yes," she said.
Lane once told her that what they did together didn't make her a bad person, she said.
He also said it didn't make him a bad person, either.
For two hours Wednesday afternoon, jurors in Pima County Superior Court listened to the 17-year-old girl make allegation after allegation against Lane, a 48-year-old auto-store employee from Three Points.
Lane is accused of sexually abusing the girl from the time she was 5 until the age of 13 or 14. The Arizona Daily Star does not name the alleged victims of sex crimes.
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If he is convicted of the four felony counts he's facing, Lane could spend the rest of his life in prison, because he already has served 10 years in prison for molesting two sisters in the early 1980s.
The soft-spoken blonde told jurors that her mother met Lane in California when she was about 4. They moved to Tucson shortly after her fifth birthday, and it was then that the abuse began, the girl said.
The first "weird" thing she remembers is waking up naked in Lane's bed with Lane lying naked next to her. She had fallen asleep in her pajamas the night before.
From the start, the girl said Lane insisted on tucking her into bed every night — a practice that continued until she was 15.
It was during these nightly visits that the abuse got progressively worse, the girl said. Her mother would either be out of the house or doing chores.
Lane took photos of her on three occasions and tried on a fourth, the girl said.
"He said he wanted to take pictures to remember how young I was," she said.
As the years went on, the girl said she found ways to avoid the abuse. She would purposely fall asleep on the couch or watch TV until the early-morning hours.
By the time she was 13 or 14, the girl said, she began to get involved in extracurricular activities so she could stay out of the house.
She never told anyone about the abuse because she feared being placed in a foster home or with relatives she didn't know, the girl said. She also was afraid of hurting her mother, emotionally and financially. Lane supported the whole family.
By the time her mother and Lane broke up, the girl said, she had a job and was working toward early graduation and obtaining her emancipation.
She said she finally told her boss's husband about the abuse a few months after moving in with the couple. The former police officer suspected something had happened between her and Lane, but she initially denied it, the girl said.
"My mind was screaming, ' "Yes," you need to say "yes," but my mouth blurted out 'no,' " the girl said.
During cross-examination, the girl acknowledged that she had changed her account of the number of photo sessions she participated in with Lane. She also said she spent many hours with Lane at his job at the auto-parts store.
She also went to authorities right after her mother was arrested for trespassing at Lane's home.
Judge Howard Fell is presiding over the trial in Pima County Superior Court. It is expected to wrap up early next week.
