Attorneys in the case of a man accused of raping a UCLA student
in 2002 outlined their arguments during opening statements Tuesday
““ focusing on issues of consent, the plaintiff’s
actions after the alleged rape, and the attitude and actions of the
defendant towards women.
A jury deadlocked over four months ago when DeShawn Stringer,
Chuwan Anthony and Jamar Dawson were tried for raping the student
while she was in her De Neve dorm room in December 2002. The L.A.
County district attorney’s office chose in June to only retry
Stringer, who received votes of six guilty, six not guilty on
charges of forced rape and seven guilty, five not guilty on charges
of forced oral sex.
Deputy district attorney Scott Millington, the lead prosecutor
in the case, began opening statements by trying to paint Stringer
as a man who has a pattern of assaulting women. Stringer’s
defense attorney Frank Williams opened second, and questioned the
alleged victim’s actions during and after the sexual
encounter.
“(Stringer has a) disposition to commit sexual offenses
against women,” Millington, a UCLA alumnus, told the jury of
six men and six women.
While Stringer was in high school in 2000, he inappropriately
grabbed the breast and thigh of another student during class,
Millington said. That student, Maryzela Casillas, testified in
court Tuesday, and corroborated Millington’s statements.
Hours before Stringer’s sexual encounter with Jane Doe,
the name the court is using to protect the alleged victim, he also
sexually assaulted another UCLA student by squeezing her buttocks,
Millington said. During the last trial, Stringer was convicted for
the assault and sentenced to 60 days in county jail for sexual
battery. During the first trial, the defense based part of their
argument on Doe’s actions after the incident ““ noting
that she spent time going to class, turning in final papers and did
not immediately go to the police.
Millington continued opening statements by addressing
Doe’s actions after the encounter, saying they resulted from
a condition called “frozen fright.”
Gail Abarbanel, director of the Santa Monica Rape Treatment
Center, will testify about frozen fright and that Doe’s
actions were consistent with that of a rape victim, Millington
said.
During a court break Tuesday, Williams was quick to try and
discredit Abarbanel, saying she was not really qualified to talk
about questions of rape because she only dealt with rape victims.
He added that if Doe’s actions after the encounter made
sense, an expert wouldn’t be needed to translate those
actions.
An expert is only needed when something’s wrong, Williams
said.
Williams also refuted the idea that his client had a pattern of
sexual offenses against women, noting that Stringer was only
14-years-old at the time of the incident in high school.
“If these two incidents indicate a propensity, then I have
a propensity,” Williams said.
During opening statements, Williams insisted the encounter was
consensual, and noted that Stringer had left traces of semen in the
room after the sexual encounter without concern.
“Why would he leave semen samples all over the room? Why
would he leave tissue all over the room?” Williams said
during the break.
Williams added during opening arguments that Stringer came back
to the room after the encounter and that he and Doe even had a
conversation about whether Jay-Z or Eminem was a better rapper
““ hinting that the mood was relaxed.
Stringer, Anthony and Dawson, who were minors at the time of the
incident, were at UCLA on a field trip with Carson High School when
they broke off from the larger group and went to the De Neve
dorms.
During the first trial, Dawson said one of the reasons they went
to the dorms was to meet girls. The three walked around different
buildings meeting residents, often telling them that they were
college football players from Florida State, before eventually
making their way to Doe’s room.
Stringer first entered Doe’s room and had intercourse and
oral sex with her, while Dawson and Anthony left. During the first
trial, Doe testified that she said “no” several times
to Stringer. Dawson and Anthony returned after Stringer left and
also had intercourse and oral sex with Doe, sometimes concurrently.
The prosecution says the encounter was rape while the defense says
it was consensual.
The prosecution began building its case Tuesday and called its
first witnesses. Because of time constraints, Doe was only able to
briefly begin her testimony Tuesday, but will continue today.