A former counselor at the Deer Ridge Correctional Institute faced his first day of trial on charges of sex abuse Wednesday in Deschutes County Circuit Court.

Jon Yeakey, 44, is accused of sexually abusing a female relative who was 15 at the time of the alleged acts in 2013, and a 16-year-old girl he met while escorting another family member to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting.

In opening arguments, Deschutes County Deputy District Attorney Brigid Turner described Yeakey as a man consumed by fantasies about having sex with young girls, who eventually turned to pursuing actual sex with actual girls.

Turner said Yeakey was a “prolific texter,” who traded sexually explicit text messages with a former sexual partner for several years. When the woman, Rebecca Babcock, declined to continue their physical relationship and backed away from sharing fantasies through text messages, he turned his attention toward his relative and the second teen.

Defense attorney Todd Grover, while describing his client as a man of questionable morals and someone you might not want as a neighbor, said prosecutors have no evidence of sexual misconduct beyond the text messages.

Grover said it was “absurd” to believe Yeakey’s text messages represented a narration of his sexual encounters with the two teens.

“They read like juvenile, male fantasy sex — the kind of stuff you’d expect to pick up and read about in a Penthouse magazine,” Grover said.

Prior to his arrest in October 2013, Yeakey lived in Redmond with his wife, her two children and his two children, all of whom were in high school at the time.

In text messages to Babcock, Yeakey wrote of his female relative flirting with him and leaving doors open while she showered or changed clothes. In one message, he claimed to have had a sexual encounter with her in a vacant house near his home.

Testifying Wednesday, Babcock described how at times over the years, she and Yeakey had engaged in sexual role-playing, with her dressing up in pigtails and a “schoolgirl” dress. In the months leading up to Yeakey’s arrest, Babcock posed as his female relative in their text conversations, and they discussed his supposed flirtatious relationship with her.

In some messages, Yeakey said his descriptions of his relative were “just a fantasy,” Babcock testified, while in other messages, he said he had not had sex with the girl, but “other things” had happened.

Grover asked Babcock whether she believed a flurry of texts sent in early August 2013 were actually narrating an in-progress sexual contact between Yeakey and the girl. Babcock said she wouldn’t have participated in such a conversation if she believed the girl was actually being abused, but eventually found herself unsure what she should believe.

“I didn’t know what to think to be honest,” Babcock said.

Detective Eric Beckwith with the Redmond Police Department and Detective Zach Neemann with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office were questioned by attorneys as well, describing the methods used to extract deleted photos and text messages from Yeakey’s phone.

Yeakey’s trial resumes today.

— Reporter: 541-383-0387,

shammers@bendbulletin.com