The Mercury (Pottstown, PA)

Ex-trooper

- To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.

were during sex outdoors at night when her mother drove up.

Lawrence’s attorney, Steven Pacillio of Media, in cross-examining her, attempted to pin the woman down on certain aspects of her story, such as whether she had ever gone for ice cream with Lawrence and her sister or how he could have fondled her with her mother present, as she said he did on occasion.

Pacillio also questioned how much contact the woman had had with Lawrence

in recent years, and how much of that contact she had initiated. She said she met with him at Applebee’s once for lunch, and went to stay with him at the house he shared with one of his sons when she needed a place to stay. She even painted his house for him when she needed money.

But he also provided the jury with copies of text messages between the two when she asks to meet him, and one final set when he confronts her about the accusation­s against him.

“Did I do anything inappropri­ate with you when you were younger?” Lawrence asked. “Because you need a counselor, and I’m not a counselor. This is too crazy.”

The woman testified that she still had kind feelings for Lawrence after all those years, even though she knew he should not have abused her, and the contact they had should not have happened.

“I just know that what he did to me was wrong, but I talked to him as if there was not an issue,” she said. “I tried not to look at him any differentl­y.”

The trial is scheduled to continue Wednesday.

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