A Common Pleas Court jury will begin deliberating Friday, March 21, in two cases of alleged indecent assault against a Boyers man.

Closing arguments from defense attorney Nina Martinelli and Assistant District Attorney Laura Pitchford were presented Thursday in the trial that began Monday.

State police filed charges in two cases against Shawn Berkstresser, 54, alleging he had inappropriate contact with four women between 2017 and 2022, when three were minors and one was 18 years old. One case involves three alleged victims who testified Monday, and the second case involves one alleged victim who testified Tuesday.

The alleged victims in the first case said the touching took place frequently, describing the incidence as daily or every other day, multiple times a week, and daily or weekly. They said he touched their breasts, vaginas and buttocks.

The women said Berkstresser would sometimes ask them if what he was doing bothered them. They said they told him it didn’t bother them or didn’t respond when he asked, but the alleged touching made them feel uncomfortable.

They said they didn’t tell anyone about the alleged touching at first. They eventually felt the touching was not normal and told each other and police that he was touching them.

The alleged victim in the second case said Berkstresser made her feel uncomfortable by tickling her, smacking her buttocks and rubbing her body when she was visiting his home at age 16.

Berkstresser, who testified Wednesday and Thursday, said he didn’t touch the three alleged victims inappropriately. He said they regularly came to him with medical issues such as sore muscles and skin irritations, and he would rub or massage them or apply lotion on their skin.

He described the contact as “comfortable” and not intimate.

He said talk about sex and body parts between him and the alleged victims was common, and he never touched the alleged victim in the second case.

Judge Joseph Kubit is presiding over the trial.