SANDPOINT — Defense counsel for a Bonner County man facing lewd conduct and child sexual abuse charges is questioning the competency of the accuser, a developmentally delayed 13-year-old girl.

Michael Douglas White is charged with one count of lewd conduct and two counts of sexual abuse of a child. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is free on $50,000 bond while the case is pending.

White, 52, is accused of touching the girl’s genitalia and breasts in 2015, when she was 12 years old, according to a criminal complaint. He’s further accused of showing the girl a pornographic video on his mobile phone.

The alleged victim disclosed the abuse to a sibling, who in term reported it to their mother.

A four-day jury trial in 1st District Court is slated to get underway on April 11.

The case is being defended robustly, court records show.

A steady stream of motions have coursed through the court file. They include objections to introduction of prior bad acts by the defendant and consideration of evidence which could be subject to suppression proceedings, in addition to motions to disqualify a judge and prohibit a trial judge’s from speaking with jurors after the trial concludes.

White’s counsel, Coeur d’Alene attorney Anne Taylor, more recently filed motions which seek to determine the competency of the accuser and compel the state to pinpoint the date and location where the girl was allegedly shown the video so that charge can be properly defended. Taylor said the girl’s competency is in question due to the vagueness in her testimony, court records indicate.

A hearing on those motions is pending in district court.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall argued at a preliminary hearing last fall that White targeted the alleged victim under the incorrect belief that she would be less likely to disclose the abuse due to her developmental delay, which was thought to be the result of severe neglect by her biological mother, according to a hearing transcript. Taylor maintained that there was no credible evidence in the case and that the charges were a vengeful fabrication of the woman who is now the child’s mother.

Judge Debra Heise ruled there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on the charges, court records show.

White is being prosecuted as a persistent violator due to a prior felony drug conviction in Washington state and two prior felony drunken driving convictions in Bonner County.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.