BOWLING GREEN - Her shoulders shaking as she cried on the witness stand, a drug-addicted Toledo runaway yesterday said she regularly prostituted for a Wood County man for one simple reason: "money for drugs, for clothes, and whatever else I wanted."

Now 15, the girl was just 13 at the time, said Heather Baker, an assistant Wood County prosecutor.

The girl was the first witness yesterday in the trial of Seybert J. Williams, Jr., 47, of Northwood. Charged with compelling prostitution of a minor, Mr. Williams is being held in the Wood County jail pending the outcome of the jury trial.

According to investigators, Mr. Williams paid the teenager for sex several times between January, 2005, and August, 2006. He met her the first time, the girl testified, while she was walking along an East Toledo street looking for customers.

Over time, he bought her clothes, shoes, and jewelry. An aunt sometimes would accompany her to Mr. Williams' mobile home, which the aunt would clean for money. At the same time, the girl prostituted in a nearby room, the girl testified.

But on cross-examination, defense attorney Mike Kelley began picking apart details the girl had offered, asking whether drugs had left gaps in the teenager's memory.

"Plenty of times," the girl responded. "I don't remember a lot of stuff."

He also asked about the girl's parents.

"I'm pretty sure they knew I was on drugs and stuff, and I'm pretty sure they knew what I was doing," she said.

And had they tried to help, Mr. Kelley pressed.

"There's no way you can help a person on drugs unless they want to help [themselves]," she said.

Mr. Kelley warned jurors against "improperly drawn conclusions," describing Mr. Williams as a "father-figure role model" who offered the young girl a safe place to stay. He tried to instill a "work ethic," offering money for things like doing dishes, laundry, and landscape work.

"Mr. Williams was the only real friend [she] had," Mr. Kelley said.

The case continues today in Common Pleas Court before Judge Alan Mayberry.

First Published May 15, 2007, 10:29 a.m.