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Last updated on Monday, March 5, 2018
(BEDFORD) - The trial of a Paoli man accused of child molesting has been postponed.
The trial of Benjamen Chastain was to begin today. Chastain is facing multiple allegations of child molestation.
The trial has been rescheduled in Orange Circuit Court for August 7th at 8:30 a.m. Judge Steven Owen is presiding over the case.
Chastain is being represented by New Albany attorney James Fifer. Kelly Minton is prosecuting the case for the state.
Chastain, 41, is facing three felony counts of child molestation after incidents that occurred nearly 15 years ago. He is being held on a $10,000 cash bond.
According to court documents, the first victim, who is now an adult, claims the first incident happened when she was 11 years old.
The woman told police that she was at Chastain's home in Millersburg for Thanksgiving when he took her to his room and had sex with her. She also reported that this happened more than once and at more than one location.
The first victim told police that one incident happened at her home. The woman says that she attempted to yell for help and Chastain slapped her in the face and covered her mouth.
The victim first told her mother about the molestation on December 9, 2015.
Police then learned about two other victims.
A second woman came to the police station on December 13, 2015 to report that she had been molested by Chastain.
The second victim, now 26, was 10 when she spent the night with Chastain and his wife. She told police that Chastain's wife was pregnant and sick, so she left the room and that is when Chastain allegedly molested her.
The second victim told police she didn't report the crime because she had been molested before by another man and when she told no one believed her.
On December 15, a third woman reported that she was molested by Chastain. The woman now 20, was 5 or 6 when the incident happened. She told police she was Chastain's home playing with his children outside when Chastain called her inside the home and took her to a bedroom and locked the door. The woman told police Chastain made her take her clothes off and have sex with him.
The woman told her mother about the incident when she was 17. But her mother didn't believe her saying Chastain would do something like that because he had been going to church and getting closer to God.
The woman told police she had to "act like it never happened due to him still being in the family and also stated she's still struggling with the incident and had a panic attack prior to speaking with police."
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