A Wyoming man who identifies as a woman named “Michelle” is now standing trial for the alleged rape of a 10-year-old girl, reports say.
Miguel Martinez was arrested after the child’s mother reported the attack to Caspar, Wyoming, police. Martinez was arrested and pleaded not guilty last May, and now the trial is underway.
According to the charges, the child’s mother told police that Martinez, who was a family friend, led the child into a bathroom in March and began feeling her breasts and genitals before disrobing her and sexually assaulting her.
The child told police and medical professionals that “it hurt inside” after the encounter.
A sexual assault examination found redness and abrasions on the child’s genitalia, and rape was confirmed.
After the report of the assault, police found Martinez passed out on a couch, too drunk to even stand, the Casper Star Tribune reported. When he finally came to, a police report says he became combative, hostile, and defensive.
Police records say the transgender suspect insisted that the child was only “talking crap” and added oddly that the girl was trying to push a “publicity stunt.” Martinez then told police he would say no more without a lawyer present.
The suspect maintained his innocence at an arraignment on Natrona County District Court, according to the Billings Gazette.
Martinez could get up to 70 years in prison if found guilty after the four-day trial.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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