Man known as 'Money Mike' on trial, accused of paying teen girls for sex

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A 63-year-old Friendswood man is on trial for allegedly paying more than a half dozen teenage girls for sex.

Michael McIntosh was arrested in 2013. Investigators say he sexually assaulted the girls repeatedly at his Friendswood home over the course of several months that summer. Police say the girls called him "Money Mike" because he gave them thousands of dollars.

Prosecutor Adam Poole says the girls will each testify. Poole told the jury, "...this was not just some high school rumor. It is true. The defendant is guilty of sexual assault of a child."

Investigators had previously charged a 17-year-old girl and alleged that she orchestrated the meetings between McIntosh and her friends. Poole says now though that charges against her have been dropped. Prosecutors are treating her as "a victim" now in exchange for her testimony against McIntosh.

The first witness to testify is a 17-year-old girl who was 15 years old in the summer of 2013. Given the nature of this case, Eyewitness News will not publicly identify her. The first time she met McIntosh she says was at his home. She and four friends went there as they heard McIntosh would give them money just for going there.

She testified he did: "We got money. I think around $300. I don't remember, but I got a good amount."

She says McIntosh gave each girl money and paid them all in cash. It was only the third visit to his house that she claims they kissed. She testified she also briefly performed oral sex on him during that encounter. She told the jury McIntosh also paid her $300 then before she left.

McIntosh's attorney says the credibility of the teens claiming to be victims will be a significant issue in this case. Attorney Charles Thompson suggested to the jury that charges being dropped just last month against the one teen in exchange for her testimony is telling, saying, "That should give you an indication of just how strong they think their case is."

Thompson also says the girls have filed civil lawsuits against McIntosh seeking $2 million in damages. "They thought there was going to be a payday at the end of this... like prostitutes do," Thompson told the jury.