Sisters describe sexual assaults

By BOB WHITE

Bob White

William Helm Jr. listened Wednesday in Hardin Circuit Court where he is on trial on charges of having unlawful sex with two girls. He is charged with multiple counts of rape and sodomy for the offenses which allegedly occurred more than five years ago.

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bwhite@thenewsenterprise.com

ELIZABETHTOWN — A teenage girl described being “sick and confused” after being sexually assaulted while a fourth grader as she and her sister testified Wednesday in the Hardin Circuit Court trial of William “Bill” Roy Helm Jr.

The 40-year-old Radcliff man is accused of multiple counts of rape, sodomy and sexual abuse of the girls. The sexual assaults allegedly occurred between September 2001 and September 2002 at locations including Helm’s West Vine Street residence, prosecutors say.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jeff England said the girls lived with their mother in Radcliff when she befriended Helm and when the alleged attacks took place. The girls’ father lives in Chicago and did at the time of the alleged offenses.

The eldest girl, now 17, testified to having a “boyfriend and girlfriend” type of relationship with Helm when others weren’t around. When her mother and others were present, the girls said things were “normal.”

She testified that sexual contact began one night, while staying at Helm’s home, when she awoke to him kissing and touching her.

“After I woke up, it’s like we pretended everything was normal,” the teenager said. “I felt sick and confused. I didn’t know what to do. He told me not to say anything to my mom. I was really confused.”

She said the initial contact that night went unreported.

The girl also recalled sexual contact when parked in Helm’s SUV between two tractor-trailers in a vacant lot on U.S. 31W. That’s when she said Helm removed her pants.

“I was scared,” she said. “He just did it… He had sex with me.”

She went on to describe additional counts of child rape and sodomy while jurors listened intently.

“I didn’t know what to think. He was the only person we knew,” she said. “I thought I could trust him. I was confused.”

The girl said Helm helped her and her sister stay active while her mother drank a lot and remain unemployed.

She said she was only 11 — in fourth grade — when the first assault occurred. She moved to Chicago to be with her father shortly before turning 14.

“I didn’t tell anybody because I felt it was my fault,” she said. “He told me if anyone found out, not to tell anyone how young I was.”

Attorney Shane Young, who is defending Helm along with attorney Dwight Preston, also questioned the eldest girl.

She told him that Helm bought groceries for her family, took her and her sister fishing and became a father figure to the family.

The younger sister, now 15, also testified to having sex with Helm when she was younger than 12. Those alleged incidents occurred at a South Wilson Road home, she said.

“It happened a lot of times in the basement,” the younger sister said. “(I was) around 10 or 11.”

Cross examining the younger sister shortly before lunch Wednesday, Preston went into detail about dates of the alleged attacks and used the dates in his questions. The strategy led to repeated talks among the attorneys at the bench before Senior Judge Janet Coleman.

The trial is expected to conclude today, according to Helm’s attorneys.

Bob White can be reached at (270) 505-1750.