REPUBLIC, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri man is fighting his rape conviction after a teen said she lied about what happened because she didn’t want to get into trouble with her mother.

Daniel Pearre, of Republic, was a 25-year-old youth group leader at a Springfield church in 2015 when he was accused of raping a 15-year-old. Court records show he spent more than 100 days in a sex offender’s unit before being released on probation last year.

Court documents say the teen talked to a prosecutor after Pearre was incarcerated. She said she and Pearre had arranged to meet for sex before officers found them together.

According to a defense motion, the girl says she feared “retribution” from her mother. She says Pearre didn’t know how young she was.