UTICA, N.Y. -- Twenty-four-year-old Louis Leddick listened in court as an eight-year-old girl told a jury through closed-circuit television how he allegedly assaulted her last July. She was among eight witnesses to take the stand Wednesday.

In her testimony, the girl, who was seven-years-old at time, said while she was staying at a friend of the family's house in Sauquoit when Leddick took her and her younger brother for a walk in a wooded area nearby. That friend also testified that she knew Leddick and he had stopped by to hang out.

The eight-year-old said during the walk, Leddick told her brother to go back to the house. The girl told the court she didn't know where they were walking, but Leddick took her clothes off, punched her and

called her a bad name. She also used a picture she described as "gingerbread man" given to her by the prosecution to point out the area of Leddick's body that hurt her.

When questioned by the defense, the girl said she didn't know where a man's private was and that she couldn't see what part of his body hurt her even though her eyes were open. The girl also said she heard guys calling her name when this was happening and she screamed "help me."

Those three men also took the stand and testified they saw Leddick and the girl walking in the woods earlier that evening in July and said Leddick told them the girl was his daughter when he stopped them for directions. They went looking for the child after learning a little girl was missing. Each testified when they located her, she was naked in the woods with Leddick.
One of the men chased after Leddick, while the other two brought her out of the woods to police.

The jury also heard testimony from a neighbor who lives in Sauquoit, as well as an officer who responded to the alleged incident. The prosecution expects to call 12 more witnesses Thursday, with testimony continuing through Friday. The defense isn't sure at this time if Louis Leddick will take the stand.