Named victim testifies in sexual assault trial of former church leader

Editor's note: This story includes references to allegations of grooming and sexual assault of children. Sexual assault resources for victims and their loved ones are available at the bottom of this story.

Over nearly a full day of testimony Wednesday, the named victim in the trial against Gabriel Geringer, who stands accused of sexual assault on a child, told jurors Geringer groomed and repeatedly sexually assaulted her as a teenager.

The assaults Geringer is accused of committing allegedly took place in 2010 and 2011 but were reported to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office in December 2018.

The woman told jurors Geringer, a former youth pastor and praise team leader at a church in Fowler, started to grow close to her when she entered his youth group.

She testified that Geringer began to give her "special treatment" when she was 12 or 13 years old, taking her aside at youth group meetings to talk about marital conflicts with his wife, giving her gifts and compliments, and taking her on trips.

The woman said she specifically recalled a trip to Colorado Springs to purchase a purebred puppy, during which she said Geringer was "flirting" with her, telling her she was pre1tty and saying things she'd "always wanted to hear from a boy."

She also testified that Geringer would take her on tractor rides to teach her how to drive one, during which she would sit on Geringer's lap. During one of those incidents, she said she was about to be dropped off in front of her house when Geringer asked, "What will you give me?" and told her a hug wasn't enough, so she kissed him.

The woman testified that a few weeks after that incident, she invited Geringer, who was 33 years old when the alleged interactions began with the then-14-year-old, over for dinner. She said he later kissed, then forced himself on her. She said she recalled telling him to stop.

The woman stated she did not tell anyone else what happened and described experiencing "cognitive dissonance," in that she saw Geringer as a father figure and was not sure if that was how fathers treat their daughters.

She described the incident as "extremely violent," at one point during her testimony.

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She told jurors that on Aug. 26, 2010 — a date the woman said she remembers due it being a friend's birthday — she was waiting up late at night when Geringer called her to sneak out of her window. She said he laid down a blanket in a field outside her home, where she "lost her virginity for real" according to her testimony.

"After this, I was looking at myself in the mirror, trying to figure out what I felt about it," she said. "I was thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to hell. But also, I think I have a boyfriend now.' "

She said that interaction was the start of a pattern in which she and Geringer had frequent sexual encounters for the next three years, ending shortly before her senior year of high school in La Junta. Geringer's trial is specifically focusing on sexual interactions alleged to have occurred before the woman turned 15, since each of those would constitute sexual assault on a child.

Speaking to how she and Geringer kept their relationship a secret, the victim stated she never had a core group of friends and was largely isolated at that period of her life, being homeschooled the vast majority of the time of her and Geringer's alleged relationship. Her mother also worked long hours in a home health job and was often away from home from the early morning to late at night, she said.

Her brother, she said, was often either in Fowler with his friends or with his grandmother in Pueblo, all of which made it easier for Geringer to prey on her as a teenager, she testified.

While Fowler is a small community, she said she and Geringer took several precautions to ensure they did not get caught. The assaults typically took place in a truck or tractor, she testified, of which Geringer had several of both.

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During cross-examination, Michael Beck, an attorney representing Geringer, asked the woman if it would be possible to see through the wide windows of a tractor or into a truck.

When asked if she would describe that behavior as "high-risk," the woman responded, "I would now define having sex with a 14-year-old as high-risk behavior."

The woman stated she did not realize what Geringer did to her was abuse until years later in college, when a friend was describing past traumatic experiences. When she recounted her own experience with Geringer, she said her friend encouraged her to go to counseling, and through that journey, came to realize she was a survivor of sexual abuse.

She then reported the alleged abuse to law enforcement.

The therapy she's been through has also helped with the recollection of certain details she would rather forget, she said, although it's been a difficult experience.

"Telling my story in front of people I don't know, in front of him, in front of his mother, it's one of the hardest things I've ever done," she testified.

The woman's cousin testified to having once seen her and Geringer kiss in a shed on her grandmother's property. The cousin stated that as soon as she realized what she was seeing, she sprinted away.

Testimony in Geringer's trial resumed Thursday and the trial is slated to continue through Friday.

According to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, a person is sexually assaulted in the United States once every 68 seconds; once every nine minutes, that victim is a child.

To contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline, operated by RAINN, call 800-656-HOPE (4673.)

For more resources for sexual assault survivors and their loved ones, visit rainn.org/national-resources-sexual-assault-survivors-and-their-loved-ones.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime.

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Named victim testifies in sexual assault trial of former church leader