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They were three skinny, sheepish teenagers, pushing the limits of adolescence but not yet men.
In voices ranging from firm to barely audible, each testified yesterday about a suburban teen party that ultimately turned seamy and, in the eyes of authorities, illegal.
On the basis of their accounts, a 38-year-old Bucks County mother was ordered held for trial on a variety of sexual assault charges.
Angela Honeycutt of Lower Makefield Township is accused of engaging in sex acts with two of the boys, ages 14 and 15. The crimes allegedly occurred during a teen sleepover in April at the home of a female friend of Honeycutt's, who lived in the neighborhood.
The boys testified that Honeycutt had danced provocatively, discussed sex with them, and kissed two or three of them before disrobing and heading for the shower.
"She asked if anyone would want to join her in the shower. . .," the 15-year-old testified. "I wasn't planning on having sex when I entered the bathroom. After stuff happened, I changed my mind."
The boy said he told police about the incident two days later, leading to charges that have drawn national media attention. His family reportedly has moved to another community to escape notoriety.
District Judge Michael J. Burns of Morrisville ordered Honeycutt held for trial on charges of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault and corruption of minors.
Honeycutt has pleaded not guilty. Her lawyer, Niels Eriksen, said she intended to fight the charges in court.
"I was shocked at the amount of inconsistencies" in the boys' testimony, Eriksen said after the hearing. "It seemed, at best, that the stories were contrived when they sat down to get their stories straight."
Assistant District Attorney Mark Walz said he was sorry that the boys had to testify, "but hopefully we can get this behind them as soon as possible. They've certainly expressed a desire to be finished with it."
Also charged in the case is Lynne Long-Higham, in whose home the party was held.
Long-Higham, 45, has waived her preliminary hearing and is awaiting arraignment next month on charges of endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors. Prosecutors accuse her of standing by and allowing the crimes to occur.
According to court records and yesterday's testimony, the party began on the evening of April 11 as a coed gathering of about 20 teens, including the elder of Long-Higham's two sons. By midnight, the party had dwindled to six teens, not including Long-Higham's son, the two women, and Honeycutt's 8-year-old daughter.
A 15-year-old boy said Honeycutt was "making out" with another teen and dancing "like a stripper" in a bedroom. At one point, he said, Honeycutt's daughter wandered into the room, saw her mom dancing, and left.
The two women took the young girl home, returning in about an hour. Both had been drinking wine, the boy said.
The conversation turned to sex, the boy said, and "Ms. Honeycutt was telling us her fantasies."
After all but three boys and the two women had gone to bed, Honeycutt openly disrobed and walked to the shower, the teens testified.
One of the 15-year-olds said he followed and got into the shower with her. A few minutes later, the boy testified, he ducked his head out of the bathroom door, asked the other 15-year-old for a condom, and had sex with Honeycutt in the shower.
Honeycutt emerged briefly afterward, smoked a cigarette and exposed herself again, the witnesses said. She then returned to the shower, this time followed by the 14-year-old.
In a voice that could barely be heard, the youth said he engaged in two sex acts in the shower with Honeycutt, but did not have intercourse.
"She made it possible for us to go in with her," he said.
The three teens' stories were consistent on most of the major allegations. They varied, however, on a number of details.
Asked by Eriksen about his hazy recollection, the teen who allegedly had intercourse with Honeycutt indicated he would rather forget.
"I've been trying to think about it as little as possible," he said.
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