GOLDEN — The dark-haired teenager fidgeting on the witness stand called the defendant “Wes” and insisted it was she — and not the former Alameda High School girls basketball coach — who pursued a sexual relationship.
One of three underage girls that Wesley Specht, 27, stands accused of having sex with while at the school reluctantly testified Tuesday about her relationship with the coach, the nude photos he allegedly requested and the graphic texts they exchanged.
“I cared for Wes, and they (prosecutors) knew I didn’t want him to get into trouble for something we both wanted,” the teen testified. “The attention he gave me was really nice. He would listen to me. He would understand me.”
Consent is not a defense for statutory rape in Colorado. The witness, now 18, is not being identified because she is a suspected victim of sexual assault.
In a trial that continues today, Specht faces seven felony counts, including a pattern of sexual assault on a child by someone in a position of trust, enticement of a child and possession of graphic images depicting underage subjects.
Specht — a one-time member of the American Basketball Association’s Colorado Kings nicknamed “Wild Man” — allegedly had sex with the girls between November 2010 and April 2011.
Testimony on Tuesday revealed an atmosphere at Alameda High where Specht — more friend than authority figure — oversaw teenage girls as a contract coach and sometimes recruited his alleged conquests to the team, and where jealous gossip spread among students about his alleged affairs.
In a recorded phone call that Tuesday’s witness made at the Lakewood Police Department’s request, Specht talks about looking for jobs elsewhere as word about his alleged sexual exploits spread before his arrest.
“Those are serious rumors. That’s what you don’t understand,” he tells the teen during the call.
His attorney, public defender Stephanie Seibold, said Specht was worried about losing his job — not jail — and had tried to cool off his relationship with the girl.
Specht won over the testifying teen with flowers for her birthday, and he later encouraged her to get involved with the girls basketball team, where she kept statistics and sometimes traveled for away games, according to Tuesday’s testimony.
Their sexual relationship began after he started driving her home, the teen said.
At times hiding her face in her hand or sighing loudly, she defended Specht, whom she affectionately named “Punk” in her cellphone to conceal his identity. She propositioned him for sex and brought a bottle of rum to a hot-tub liaison they had at Specht’s parents’ house, she insisted.
Prosecutors, however, presented a chain of texts in which Specht appears to be the person making the propositions.
“Still got that bottle of Bacardi,” Specht wrote in April 2011.
“I’m up for it if you are,” the girl replied.
Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com
