A judge ordered a Taylorsville man to stand trial Friday on sexual abuse charges for allegedly molesting, on numerous occasions, two girls he'd known for at least five years.
Prosecutors charge that Shane Richard Brundle, 33, molested two sisters, ages 13 and 9, while living with the girls' mother.
Brundle molested the 13-year-old girl 10 to 15 times dating back to at least 1997, prosecutors contend. In one case, the girls' brother walked in while Brundle was molesting her, the 13-year-old testified.
The girl said she never reported being molested until Brundle moved out of the house for the last time in November 1999.
On one occasion the girl said she did tell her mother of some inappropriate touching by Brundle.
"I told my mom he was touching me in inappropriate ways, but my mom just thought he was tickling me," the girl said.
The mother testified she didn't know Brundle was molesting her daughters while he lived with the family. The mother currently faces charges in juvenile court that she failed to protect her daughters.
During cross examination of the 13-year-old girl and her mother, defense attorney G. Fred Metos hinted that the girls might have made up the sexual abuse as revenge for Brundle spanking and disciplining them.
After 3rd District Judge Robin Reese ordered Brundle to stand trial, he allowed the accused man to be released from electronic ankle monitoring.
He will be arraigned May 1 before Judge Dennis Fuchs on felony charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, attempted sodomy on a child, and two counts of sodomy on a child.
You can reach Derek Jensen by e-mail at djensen@desnews.com.