GREENUP — Is Christina St. Clair a sexual deviant who preyed on children or the victim of false allegations arising from a “nasty” custody dispute?

That is a decision a jury will ultimately have to make in a trial that began Monday in Greenup Circuit Court.

St. Clair, 30, of South Shore, is accused of forcing her two young daughters to engage in sexual acts with two of her former boyfriends, forcing one of the children to perform oral sex on her, and subjecting the two girls — who were 5 and 6 at the time of the alleged offenses — to sexual touching by both men.

St. Clair is charged with five counts of first-degree sodomy and three counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Under Kentucky law, first-degree sodomy is a Class A felony if it involves a victim under 12, meaning St. Clair could get life in prison if she is convicted.

The former boyfriends, Buford I. Henderson, 40, of South Shore, and Dustin R. Wood, 22, of Portsmouth, also have been indicted in the case and will be tried separately.

In his opening remarks, Greenup Commonwealth’s Attorney Clifford Duvall said the case would hinge on the testimony of the two girls, who are now 9 and 10 and living with their paternal grandparents in Ohio.

Duvall said St. Clair had not only failed to protect her children from Wood and Henderson but had ordered them to engage in sexual acts with her and the two men and threatened to “whip” both of them if they told anybody.

“These adult men did this in the presence of the mother and with her approval while she looked on,” he said.

However, in her opening statement, St. Clair’s attorney, public defender Amy Craft, said the paternal grandmother, Carolyn Fugate of South Point, concocted the allegations against her client and manipulated the children into lying to social workers about being abused so she and her husband, Chester Fugate, could obtain permanent custody of the two girls and their younger brother.

“This case is nothing more than a nasty, horrible custody battle,” she said. “Some people will fight dirty to get what they want, and that’s what this is all about.”

Craft said the state Cabinet for Families and Children removed the children from St. Clair’s home after she and her husband, Garrett St. Clair, divorced and he joined the military. The removal, Craft said, was primarily because of Christina St. Clair’s relationship with Henderson, a man she described as a violent alcoholic who was abusive to St. Clair and the children.

St. Clair broke up with Henderson several times but always went back to him, despite being advised by the Cabinet not to do so, because he provided her family with an income and some degree of stability, Craft said. She also said St. Clair had a brief relationship with Wood during one of the periods she and Henderson were apart.

After being removed from the home, the children spent several months in foster care before going to live with the Fugates by mutual agreement of the parties, Craft said.

During the time they were in foster care, and after they were placed with the grandparents, Christina St. Clair visited her children regularly, Craft said. She also began a relationship with a new man who treated her well, and she got a job, she said.

“She was getting stable,” Craft said.

She said the children talked openly to their foster parents about being physically and verbally abused by Henderson but never mentioned any sexual contact with him or with anyone else. Those allegations only came about, Craft said, after her client began the process of trying to regain custody of her children.

Duvall said the children told their grandparents about the alleged abuse, and the grandparents, in turn, notified the Cabinet, which referred the case to the Kentucky State Police.

Testimony in the case was scheduled to resume at 9 this morning.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.