A former Round Lake Beach minister denied Wednesday in Lake County court that he had ever molested the girl who has accused the clergyman of accosting her when she spent the night at his home.
On Tuesday, the girl, now 14, testified that Rev. Blake Higginbothom stripped to his red underpants and molested her when she stayed overnight at the Higginbothom family’s Round Lake Beach home in the fall of 1992.
But when called to the witness stand on Wednesday, Higginbothom denied he was ever alone with the girl in his home and insisted he had never molested her. Besides, he testified, he is allergic to colored underwear and never wears it.
Higginbothom made the statements under questioning by defense attorney Albert Wysocki.
Earlier Wednesday, one of Higginbothom’s daughters, Brandi Higginbothom, 15, said the girl, who was 12 at the time of the alleged incident, never stayed overnight at the family home that fall. Brandi said she moved in with her father and stepmother in November 1992.
In her testimony, the accuser did not say when during that autumn she had been molested.
On cross-examination by Assistant State’s Atty. Mary Schostok, Brandi said that it was not uncommon for some of the younger members of the congregation to spend the night with the Higginbothom family. Brandi said that she did not know every time someone stayed overnight.
Higginbothom, 42, pastor of the Rock of Round Lake church, which moved to Georgia following his arrest in August, is being tried on charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and battery.
Brandi also disputed the 14-year-old’s testimony about the morning in early 1994 when the girl said she was called out of class at the church’s school and went to the church office.
The girl had testified that Higginbothom had her lie on the floor of his office and that he rubbed her buttocks for about 15 minutes.
But Brandi, who was in the same class as the girl, testified that the girl was gone for just a few minutes that day. Brandi said she went to the restroom moments after the girl left and looked toward the office.
Brandi said she saw only the school principal and the girl, not her father.
Before testimony began Wednesday, Lake County Judge Michael Fritz had acted on a defense motion and dismissed the charge of criminal sexual abuse against Higginbothom. Fritz ruled that the state statute on criminal sexual abuse refers to a victim’s anus being touched, but says nothing about the buttocks.
Shortly after Higginbothom’s testimony, the case was adjourned until Thursday, when prosecutors were expected to call rebuttal witnesses.
![Cannabis company owners in Illinois welcomed the news Tuesday that the federal government is expected to reclassify marijuana as a drug with medicinal value and lower potential for abuse. The Associated Press reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. Rather than continuing to classify cannabis with much stronger drugs like heroin and LSD, the move would put pot in the same class with certain prescription drugs like codeine, ketamine, steroids, and testosterone. The change will not be immediately noticeable to most consumers in Illinois, where medical and recreational use already […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-l-pot-soft-drug_177837229.jpg?w=525 "Cannabis company owners in Illinois welcomed the news Tuesday that the federal government is expected to reclassify marijuana as a drug with medicinal value and lower potential for abuse. The Associated Press reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. Rather than continuing to classify cannabis with much stronger drugs like heroin and LSD, the move would put pot in the same class with certain prescription drugs like codeine, ketamine, steroids, and testosterone. The change will not be immediately noticeable to most consumers in Illinois, where medical and recreational use already […]")