Attorneys for defendants accused of raping a UCLA student in
2002 called two UCLA students as witnesses Wednesday, and continued
building their case by asserting that the sex was consensual.
For most of the day, Jamar Dawson, one of the three accused of
sexual assault, answered questions from both the defense and
prosecution about his high school’s trip to UCLA, during
which he had sex with the student.
The student, whom the court is calling Jane Doe for
confidentiality reasons, testified earlier in the trial that the
sexual encounter was rape, and that she had said
“no.”
The defendants visited UCLA on Dec. 5, 2002 during a high school
field trip to the university.
Dawson and the other defendants, Chuwan Anthony and DeShawn
Stringer, broke off from the group and went to the De Neve
dorms.
Dawson said during the trial one of the reasons they went to the
dorms was to meet girls. He assumed the fake name
“George,” and the three told people they were football
players transferring to UCLA from Florida State, he said.
Dawson, Stringer and Anthony all had sex with one of the girls
whom they met in De Neve ““ someone Dawson said he had known
for less than 10 minutes.
The three accused say the sex was consensual, and that in some
cases, the woman had been the aggressor.
According to court documents from the preliminary hearing, all
three defendants were never in the woman’s room at the same
time during the sexual encounter.
While walking around in the dorms, the three knocked on the
woman’s door and spoke with her for a few moments. Stringer
then entered the room while Dawson and Anthony left, the documents
read.
Also according to the documents, the woman testified that
Stringer then forced her to have oral sex and intercourse.
During Wednesday’s testimony, Dawson told the court his
and Anthony’s sexual encounter with the woman occurred after
Stringer had already been in, and then left the room.
Dawson testified he and Anthony entered the room and both had
intercourse and oral sex with the woman ““ sometimes at the
same time.
The woman never said “no” during the encounter,
Dawson said.
During questioning, Dawson was asked what he would have done if
the woman had resisted.
“I would’ve stopped,” Dawson said.
The attorney then asked what he would have done if the woman had
said “no.”
“I would’ve never started,” Dawson
replied.
Dawson’s defense revolves around implied consent, Eugene
Matthews, a defense attorney said, which means though the woman
never said “yes” to sex, her words and actions also
never said “no.”
According to court documents, the woman did not physically or
verbally resist sex with Dawson or Anthony.
During the course of the trial, the defense has questioned the
student’s actions after the incident occurred, because she
didn’t go straight to the police.
The woman testified earlier that she had been writing a paper
before the encounter, and after being raped, could only concentrate
on turning her work into class.
Tina Oakland, director of UCLA’s Center for Women and Men
is not testifying in the trial. She said the woman’s actions
were not unusual.
“It’s very common for people to do whatever they can
do to try and get back to their normal lives,” Oakland said.
“I’ve talked to a number of students who came in after
taking a midterm or a final.”
The prosecution has argued the rape could have been
traumatic.
Matthews said earlier in the case the prosecution called an
expert witness who spoke on the effects of rape on victims.
Oakland said each rape victim can react differently to the
crime.
“Sometimes they show a lack of effect altogether … they
go into shock and feel numb,” Oakland said.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the defense called two UCLA
students who testified they encountered the defendants the day of
the alleged rape.
Gerren Bennett, who is older than the defendants, said he worked
with Anthony for five years, and was more of an acquaintance than a
close friend.
Bennett said he saw Anthony on campus and that Anthony
didn’t seem nervous or upset, but talked about his encounters
that day with UCLA students, primarily with women.
He added there was nothing about Anthony’s conduct that
led him to think something was wrong or that he should contact the
police.
Karmen Patton said the defendants had come to her dorm room the
day of the incident.
Patton said she, her roommate and another student were talking
with the defendants and some of their friends, noting the boys ate
some of her dry cereal.
Patton said she didn’t believe the defendants when they
said they were from Florida State, but that there was nothing
aggressive or sexual about their contact.
Closing arguments are scheduled to conclude today, and the jury
will then be in deliberation until it reaches a final decision.
With reports from Charlotte Hsu, Bruin senior
staff.