Graphic and emotional testimony was presented at a pretrial hearing for a former Wheeling police officer accused of sexual assault.

The hearing for Matthew Kotson was held on Thursday, just weeks after another accuser backed out of the case.

Kotson faces six counts of sexual assault and abuse and one count of burglary. The main purpose of the pretrial hearing was to determine what could be used as evidence in the first of multiple trials against Kotson, scheduled to begin Sept. 4.

The hearing lasted more than three hours, and special prosecutor David F. Cross called multiple people to the stand, including three accusers who said that Kotson sexually assaulted them. Some of the testimony was very graphic and went into detail of what they said Kotson did.

The common theme from the accusers was that Kotson didn't respond well to the word "no."

"He would try to kiss me and touch my chest. He tried to get me to take my pants off, but I didn't," one accuser testified.

That accusation is similar to what other accusers have said in their testimony. Accuser No. 2 said, "I told him to get off of me," but said Kotson got on top of her.

Senior Judge Arthur Recht called the allegations heinous.

"This jury may just erupt out of their seats and attack everyone in the courtroom. It's just bad. It ain't good," Recht said.

Even though all accusers testified on Thursday, Recht said only what is pertinent to Accuser No. 1 will be admissible, since she is the focus of the first trial on Sept. 4. Recht said he wants to look over the transcripts from the testimonies but said he believes the majority of it will be admissible in court as evidence.

Stay with NEWS9, WTOV9.com and WTOV9 Mobile for continuing coverage.