UPDATE: A Lincoln County jury found Brant Perkins guilty of sexual abuse of a minor on Wednesday afternoon. Judge Daniel Billings also found Perkins guilty of two counts of tampering with a witness. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Perkins is still scheduled for a jury trial on a child pornography charge;  a court date has not yet been set. 

ORIGINAL STORY:

A 55-year-old jiu jitsu instructor who had sex with a 15-year-old student is being tried in Lincoln County Superior Court this week.

Brant Perkins, 56, of Edgecomb, appeared before a jury on Monday, June 29 to face charges he sexually abused a minor in November 2013. Both the prosecution and defense agree the sex act occurred. However, prosecutors allege Perkins was aware of the girl’s age, making it a crime, while the defense claims he believed she was of legal age.

By the end of the day on Tuesday, the jury of seven men and six women had heard testimony from Perkins, the victim, Perkins’ former roommate who reported him to authorities, and from the Maine State Police detective who investigated the case. They had also reviewed numerous text messages and listened to recorded excerpts of Perkins speaking on the telephone and during a police interview.

During the first two days, jurors spent more time sequestered than in the courtroom. Defense attorney Justin Andrus objected frequently to state’s evidence and moved for dismissal, mistrial and acquittal at various points in the proceedings. With either jurors out of the room, in conference at the bench or in chambers, Judge Daniel Billings heard from both sides and determined the admissibility of each text message and every recorded audio excerpt.

Assistant District Attorney Jon Liberman presented four witnesses on the state’s behalf: the victim, Perkins’ two former roommates and Detective Joshua Birmingham.

The victim, a slender young woman in a white button down shirt, answered questions in a voice that implied more question than answer and at times seemed confused. 

She said she met Perkins in 2012 at the M.I.K.A. karate studio in Randolph, where he was a jiu jitsu instructor and she was a student. She described spending time at the defendant’s home and acknowledged she was 15 when they had sexual intercourse. 

On cross examination, Andrus focused on the victim’s Facebook page where she misrepresented her age as 18 and showed a photo she posted at the time to Facebook. 

“Did you tell him that (you were 18) before or after intercourse?” Andrus asked. “Before,” she answered.

“Had you ever discussed your actual age before intercourse?” Andrus asked. “Not that I recall,” she answered.

Perkins’ roommate, another jiu jitsu student who reported the sexual abuse to the state and cooperated with investigators, testified next. Liberman asked how she became aware of the relationship. 

“He told me. We talked a lot; we were good friends,” the former roommate said.

The roommate said she and Perkins had conversations about the girl’s age before he had sex with her. “He and I were concerned previously (before the act). She had a boyfriend at the time and his father we felt was inappropriate and staring at her in class. We talked about her age in regards to that. And he (Perkins) talked about making her a cake for her 16th birthday,” the former roommate said.

The former roommate provided investigators with text messages from Perkins, including one intended for the victim, and called Perkins so investigators could record the phone conversation without Perkins’ knowledge. In the recorded call, Perkins acknowledged the sex act and expressed anguish over the situation. 

In his testimony, Detective Birmingham described his March 2013 interview with the victim in her high school guidance counselor’s office, and texts on her cell phone from the defendant. The texts encouraged the girl to deny the situation. “No matter what, we didn’t have sex. Tell them I’m like a dad to you,” Perkins advised.

Birmingham detailed his interview with Perkins and Liberman played recorded excerpts. During the interview, Perkins changed from denying any sexual activity with the girl to admitting it. “The only time I had sex with her when she was 15 was the month of November,” Perkins stated on the recording. Perkins described driving the victim home after a jiu jitsu skirmish, when he said she directed him to pull down a dirt road. “I said what are we doing and she scooched over. That’s basically the beginning of the end,” he said.

On the recording Birmingham asked Perkins how he knew the girl was 15. Perkins answered: “She told me.” On cross examination, Andrus asked Birmingham if he had specifically asked Perkins whether he knew the girl was 15 at the time of the sex act. Birmingham said he had not.

The defense called only Perkins to the stand. Perkins said the victim originally approached him via text message and he believed she was “between 18 and 20” based on Facebook and other social media sites. Perkins said he did not learn of the victim’s age until two weeks after they had sex. “I was appalled,” he said. “Did you have intercourse with her after you knew she was 15?” Andrus asked. “Not at all,” Perkins replied.

When asked by Andrus why he had not told detectives he believed the girl was older, Perkins said he was trying to protect her. “She has an abusive home life and she lied about her age, and also, I didn’t realize how severe this crime was.” 

In cross examination, Liberman questioned Perkins about inconsistencies in his testimony, his texts and his police interview. “Is it safe to say when you are afraid of the consequences you at times do not tell the truth?” Liberman asked. “Yes,” Perkins replied.

Closing arguments are scheduled for Wednesday morning and then the jury will begin its deliberations.

A child pornography charge stemming from this case will be tried separately.

Perkins waived his right to a jury trial for two other subsequent charges of tampering with a witness. Those charges will be weighed separately by Judge Billings.