By Juliana Barbassa
ASSOCIATED PRESS
4:04 p.m. March 8, 2005
FRESNO – The niece of a man charged with killing nine of his children gave graphic testimony Tuesday about the sexual abuse she suffered in his household, describing years of strict discipline, repeated rape and lengthy discussions about "having babies for the Lord."
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Included in the prosecutor's list of witnesses are several young women from his interrelated clan and several experts on mind control. That indicates the prosecution may seek to show that Wesson brainwashed the victims to the point where they were ready to commit suicide on command.
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For Wesson's nieces and daughters, the abuse in the home escalated from touching and oral sex to intercourse, Solorio said. The girls were forced to perform sexual acts on Wesson and on each other as he watched, according to testimony.
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Wesson also held wedding ceremonies – rituals in which he told two of his teenage daughters and three of his nieces he was marrying them, even giving them gold wedding bands. The girls all wore the bands on their ring finger, Solorio said.
Even as the girls were being sexually abused in the home, they had to dress modestly – covering their hair, wearing long skirts and avoiding any contact with boys. Infractions, such as being caught laughing with their brothers, were punished by beatings with a stick wrapped in duct tape, Solorio said.
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