A convicted sex offender accused of inviting a 16-year-old co-worker after hours to the restaurant where they worked and presenting her with a sex toy was bound over for arraignment this week in Douglas County Circuit Court.
Charles James Evans, 49, of Superior faces one felony charge of child enticement for the incident.
A week before Christmas, the girl testified, Evans told her he had a present for her that she was not to open at work or in front of her parents. Two days before Christmas, he called her at 10 p.m. and said she could come and pick up the gift.
Bringing a friend with her, the teen stopped by the restaurant. Evans, an after-hours maintenance worker, was the only other person there, she said. He brought her out a wrapped package and told her a couple of other employees were in on it. When she opened the present, the teen saw the sex toy and a pack of batteries.
"At first I thought it was a joke, so I laughed," she said, and asked who else was in on it. "He wouldn't tell me."
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He also told her she had to put the batteries in for it to work.
According to the criminal complaint, none of the other employees knew about the gift.
About three weeks before Christmas, the girl testified, Evans gave her a piece of paper with his name, address and phone number on it. The teen said Evans also called her three separate times in the evening around 11 p.m., but she only spoke to him one of those times.
The charge of child enticement is defined as causing a child under the age of 18 to go into a building or secluded place with the intent to have sexual contact with them.
Public Defender Leslie Dollen argued that giving somebody a sex toy in and of itself, even if they provide batteries, does not constitute sexual contact or interaction.
Assistant District Attorney Jim Boughner argued that a common-sense interpretation of the present indicated the defendant intended something sexual, especially when coupled with the other interactions between Evans and the teen. While giving the girl the sex toy was not the crime, Boughner argued, it was a means to an end.
Court Commissioner Paul Baxter noted that the circumstances were unusual but found probable cause to bind Evans over for arraignment in February. He remains in Douglas County Jail for probation violations.
The Superior man was convicted of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime in 2006, following an investigation by the Ashland County Sheriff's Department.
