Todd Allen Agar

ALPENA — A man accused of sexually assaulting three girls ages 14 and younger was in court Tuesday, almost exactly a year after he appeared in the same courtroom facing nearly the same charges.

Three women appeared as witnesses in the first part of a preliminary examination of Todd Allen Agar, accused of raping the women when they were minors as young as 6.

The News does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

A preliminary exam is used to determine if there’s enough evidence for a case to proceed to trial. Tuesday’s exam will be continued as soon as court schedules allow, with the defense given an opportunity to rebut the prosecution’s witnesses.

On Tuesday, one woman described an encounter in 2005, in which she was coerced at the age of 14 into having sex with Agar, whom she said had told her he might be her father.

Another woman told the court that, starting when she was 14, Agar, in his mid-30s at the time and a distant relative of hers, would provide alcohol for her and another young girl at an Alpena home and have regular sexual encounters with them.

A third woman told of being touched intimately on multiple times by Agar when she was 6 or 7 years old and living in Alpena County, later moving to other sexual aggressions until, she said, he raped her when she was 11.

Agar’s attorney, Justin Wilson, questioned the women about details of their testimony, asking one whether the alleged actions were forced upon her or if the acts were consensual, “as much as a sexual act can be consensual for a 14-year-old.”

Two of the women said that, at least at some point, they told Agar no. The third woman said she thought the relationship was consensual.

Judge LaCross said the question is moot because underaged people cannot legally consent to sexual encounters.

Two of the women testified that, at the time of the incidents, they didn’t report what had happened because they were afraid their mothers would be mad they had been drinking.

Charges were brought against Agar after one of the victims shared her story with the Prosecutor’s Office in spring 2018.

Agar was bound over to circuit court on Dec. 11, 2018, but his case was dismissed in October after he successfully argued his right to a speedy trial had been denied when a district court hearing came two days after a deadline.

He was instantly charged again by the Prosecutor’s Office, with the addition of a third victim to the original charges.

Agar is currently serving a drug-related sentence in state prison.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.