The defense for DeShawn Stringer, the man accused of raping a
UCLA student nearly two years ago, rested its case Monday, and
lawyers for both sides are scheduled for closing arguments
today.
Stringer is accused of raping the student while on a field trip
with Carson High School in December 2002.
Frank Williams, the lead defense attorney, began his case last
week and has focused much of his energy on the character of Jane
Doe, the name the court is using to protect the identity of the
victim.
Throughout the trial, Williams has tried to paint Jane Doe as a
woman enamored with black men, a charge that may give credibility
to their allegation that the sexual encounter was consensual.
One of the pieces of evidence Williams introduced to court was
Web logs from Jane Doe, where she comments on different rappers,
athletes and actors, sometimes saying she loves black men.
Scott Millington, the lead prosecutor for the district
attorney’s office, declined to comment on the Web logs or the
defense’s strategy.
Millington rested his case last week after forming his case
around the details of the sexual encounter as well as
Stringer’s actions and demeanor toward women before the
incident.
Two of the witnesses Millington called were women Stringer had
allegedly sexually assaulted.
“(Stringer has a) disposition to commit sexual offenses
against women,” Millington said during opening statements
Oct. 5.
A jury deadlocked over four months ago when Stringer and two
other men were tried for raping the student while she was in her De
Neve dorm room on Dec. 5, 2002.
The L.A. County district attorney chose only to retry Stringer,
who received votes of six guilty, six not guilty on the charge of
forced intercourse, and seven guilty, five not guilty on the charge
of forced oral sex.
The two other defendants, Chuwan Anthony and Jamar Dawson, each
received votes of one guilty, 11 not guilty on the same
charges.
Stringer, Anthony and Dawson were in high school at the time of
the incident and left their school group during their field trip to
the university and went up to the De Neve dorms.
During the first trial, Dawson said one of the reasons the three
went up to the residence hall was to meet girls. The prosecution
said the three went to several different rooms, sometimes using
fake names and telling women that they were football players
transferring from Florida State.
The three eventually went to Jane Doe’s room. The
prosecution said Stringer entered and had sex with Jane Doe while
Dawson and Anthony left. During testimony, Doe said she told
Stringer “no” to the sexual advances more than once
““ an allegation the defense denies.
The jury of six men and six women are scheduled to begin
deliberations on the case as early as tomorrow afternoon.
Millington said he never guesses how long it will take a jury to
reach a verdict, but in the past he has speculated that a decision
will be made by the end of this week or next.