Testimony continues today in a sodomy trial of a Prattville man accused of sexually abusing a boy, with the alleged victim set to take the stand.

Ty Foster, 43, faces nine counts of sodomy.

"When you have a case that is an adult's word against a child's word, that's going to be one of the more difficult cases to argue," District Attorney Randall Houston said Monday in a telephone interview." Our case pretty much hinges on the victim's testimony, and if the jury believes the victim."

Putting a minor on the stand in a sexual abuse case is always a "difficult" decision, Houston said. The boy was 9 years old when the alleged abuse occurred. Several attempts to reach Foster's attorney, Chip Cleveland of Prattville, were unsuccessful.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Glenn Goggans and Jennifer Jordan. Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds is presiding.

The jury was seated Monday and the state called one witness before proceedings ended for the day. Carol Spencer, a mental health counselor, testified the boy had told her the abuse occurred, Houston said.

Today the state will call Dr. Penny White, who has been accepted as an expert in past cases. White is expected to testify whether there was physical evidence to back up sexual abuse charges, Houston said.

The case was moved to Baldwin County because Foster's name was associated with the high-profile Shannon Paulk kidnapping, slaying case and his attorneys successfully argued that it would be difficult for Foster to get a fair trial in Autauga County due to pretrial publicity.

Shannon, 11, disappeared from her Candlestick Park neighborhood in August 2001, where Foster lived.

Paulk was found dead two months later in a secluded hunting area north of Prattville. No arrest has been made in the Paulk case.