Third Woman Testifies Against Former Adult Store Owner

During the third day of testimony in the civil trial against the former owner of an adult store, one of the alleged victims said her then boss made sexual advances on her during a business trip.

David Eliason, who owned Annabelle's and Olivia's, is accused of raping two former employees and sexually harassing a third former employee.

Two of the employees took the stand earlier in the week. 

On Thursday, the third woman, a former cashier, said she went with Eliason on a business trip to North Carolina. She had believed it was for manager training. When they got there, she said she discovered he had only booked one hotel room, even though he promised there would be two rooms. She claimed she did not have a way to get back home, so she was forced to stay in the same room with him and claimed Eliason kept her drunk the whole time. 

At one point, she found Eliason crying on the hotel bed, and he then said he was sex addict and did not know how to handle it.  He then began rubbing her back and buttocks and tried to kiss her.

The alleged victim said Eliason became angry when she rejected his advances. His anger scared her because she had seen him exhibit violent behavior before. During her testimony, she also claimed Eliason sexually harassed her at one of the shops with a sex toy; a wand that emits a shock. He argued that he tapped her on the forearm with it to demonstrate to his former employee how the device worked.

While cross examining the woman, Eliason, who represented himself, kept asking questions about specific details about the claims to seemingly try to find any inconsistencies with her story.

A separate attorney representing the company that owns Annabelle's and Olivia's called two other former employees as witnesses. Both of those women said Eliason was a good boss who never sexually harassed them or propositioned them. The two women, who said they worked with two of the alleged victims, said one of them was often confrontational and temperamental at work. 

Closing arguments in the case will be given on Friday.