‘He Took Advantage of Me' Woman Says of Former Attorney Accused of Raping Her When She Was 16

McKINNEY — A 21-year-old woman admitted in court Friday that she gave in to Michael Harssema because she wanted to be his friend, but she was adamant during testimony that he raped her in June 2013.The woman said that when Harssema, 45, first touched her inappropriately, she refused him. But influenced by a Xanax tablet and an alcohol-infused energy drink he'd provided, she joined him willingly in the back seat — not because she was forced, as she had told officials, or was in fear because she had shown him a gun.She was the only witness Friday in Harssema's trial on one first-degree felony charge of aggravated sexual assault and three second-degree charges of indecency with a minor by contact.Court was abruptly halted three times during the testimony, once as she collapsed and fell to the floor during the first discussion of the details of the alleged sexual encounter, twice more due to her outbursts under intense cross-examination.  Continue reading...

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