wow! I can't believe the court system is siding with a fucking child molester!
These two guys are hero's in my eyes!
I hope the court finds them NOT GUILTY because these two guy don't deserve to be in jail at all!
What they did was the right thing and I would had done the same or even more...
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Convicted child molester to testify against men who allegedly beat him for the molestation.
By Tracey Kaplan [email protected]
Posted: 10/18/2011 06:58:11 AM PDT
Updated: 10/18/2011 06:58:11 AM PDT
In a surprising change of heart, a San Jose man who was severely beaten after admitting he molested an 8-year-old girl announced Monday he will testify against the brothers accused in the attack.
The decision by Avelino Rodriguez to take the stand in the trial set to open this week of Miguel and Erik Cerda is a double-edged sword for prosecutors.
This latest twist in the controversial case of vigilante justice could affect whether it ends up settling at the eleventh hour. However, the brothers have already turned down two plea deals, including one for four years in state prison instead of seven years to life.
If the trial proceeds, Rodriguez's testimony allows Deputy District Attorney Patrick Graber to describe to the jury a vivid, first-person account of the attack. Rodriguez was whipped, punched and burned with a cigarette, allegedly in retaliation for duct-taping the girl's mouth and sexually molesting her in the middle of the night last Thanksgiving as his own 10-year-old daughter slept nearby.
On the other hand, Rodriguez taking the stand exposes him to defense attorneys introducing significantly more evidence about the sexual assault which could potentially increase jurors' empathy for the brothers.
One of the two men, Miguel Cerda, regards himself as the girl's stepfather; he is the long-term boyfriend of the girl's mother and the father of two of her youngest children.
The stiff penalty the two men still face --
seven years to life in prison -- for their allegedly violent reaction to what many would consider extreme provocation has sparked debate -- since it is potentially longer than the molester's sentence. It would be up to the parole board after they served seven years whether to let them out -- a risk that defense attorneys say is out of line considering the circumstances.
Rodriguez was sentenced to 22 years in prison earlier this month after pleading no contest -- less time than the brothers will potentially serve. He pleaded no contest and also wrote a letter of apology to the girl.
Rodriguez had invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during his preliminary hearing and refused to testify. He could still invoke the privilege at any point in a trial on the grounds that he has appealed his own conviction. But on Monday he waived that right, much to the surprise of all the attorneys.
Also Monday, Maria Valenzuela Barbosa, the mother of the now-9-year-old girl, appeared in court and promised to return next week, although probably as an uncooperative witness.
Last week, in an effort to secure her appearance at the trial, prosecutors had her arrested Friday morning for failing to show up to an Aug. 1 court hearing in the case. She would have spent all weekend in jail, but prosecutors scurried to free her late that night after this newspaper raised questions about her jailing.
Last week, prosecutors said they were required by law to let her see a judge within 12 hours to explain why she didn't appear, and that exceeding that by about two hours was merely an oversight. But Monday, they said they believe they could have kept her 48 hours.
Barbosa's attorney, Michael Hingle, contended Monday that the mother never got the subpoena because prosecutors mistakenly served her sister. But Graber said the investigator in the case was certain he served the right person -- noting that Barbosa's sister is missing her left hand and forearm.
Neither the prosecution nor the defense is eager to take such a sticky case to trial. But negotiations to reach a plea deal so far have failed.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen filed the maximum felony charges possible against the brothers -- torture, mayhem, battery, assault and making criminal threats. But he's also countered with two sentencing offers the men have rejected.
First, he offered to reduce the seven-years-to-life sentence to a range of five to seven years for Erik and five to eight for Miguel. But defense attorneys, outraged that Rosen sought life in the first place, returned asking for a range of two to four years. Judge Jacqueline Arroyo would decide how much time to sentence them to within any agreed-upon range.
On Monday, prosecutor Graber made the second offer: four years in state prison with no credit for the six months the men have been in jail. Miguel countered with three years, and Eric sought two to four. On Tuesday, Graber will report the office's decision to defense attorneys.
These two guys are hero's in my eyes!
I hope the court finds them NOT GUILTY because these two guy don't deserve to be in jail at all!
What they did was the right thing and I would had done the same or even more...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Convicted child molester to testify against men who allegedly beat him for the molestation.
By Tracey Kaplan [email protected]
Posted: 10/18/2011 06:58:11 AM PDT
Updated: 10/18/2011 06:58:11 AM PDT
In a surprising change of heart, a San Jose man who was severely beaten after admitting he molested an 8-year-old girl announced Monday he will testify against the brothers accused in the attack.
The decision by Avelino Rodriguez to take the stand in the trial set to open this week of Miguel and Erik Cerda is a double-edged sword for prosecutors.
This latest twist in the controversial case of vigilante justice could affect whether it ends up settling at the eleventh hour. However, the brothers have already turned down two plea deals, including one for four years in state prison instead of seven years to life.
If the trial proceeds, Rodriguez's testimony allows Deputy District Attorney Patrick Graber to describe to the jury a vivid, first-person account of the attack. Rodriguez was whipped, punched and burned with a cigarette, allegedly in retaliation for duct-taping the girl's mouth and sexually molesting her in the middle of the night last Thanksgiving as his own 10-year-old daughter slept nearby.
On the other hand, Rodriguez taking the stand exposes him to defense attorneys introducing significantly more evidence about the sexual assault which could potentially increase jurors' empathy for the brothers.
One of the two men, Miguel Cerda, regards himself as the girl's stepfather; he is the long-term boyfriend of the girl's mother and the father of two of her youngest children.
The stiff penalty the two men still face --
seven years to life in prison -- for their allegedly violent reaction to what many would consider extreme provocation has sparked debate -- since it is potentially longer than the molester's sentence. It would be up to the parole board after they served seven years whether to let them out -- a risk that defense attorneys say is out of line considering the circumstances.
Rodriguez was sentenced to 22 years in prison earlier this month after pleading no contest -- less time than the brothers will potentially serve. He pleaded no contest and also wrote a letter of apology to the girl.
Rodriguez had invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during his preliminary hearing and refused to testify. He could still invoke the privilege at any point in a trial on the grounds that he has appealed his own conviction. But on Monday he waived that right, much to the surprise of all the attorneys.
Also Monday, Maria Valenzuela Barbosa, the mother of the now-9-year-old girl, appeared in court and promised to return next week, although probably as an uncooperative witness.
Last week, in an effort to secure her appearance at the trial, prosecutors had her arrested Friday morning for failing to show up to an Aug. 1 court hearing in the case. She would have spent all weekend in jail, but prosecutors scurried to free her late that night after this newspaper raised questions about her jailing.
Last week, prosecutors said they were required by law to let her see a judge within 12 hours to explain why she didn't appear, and that exceeding that by about two hours was merely an oversight. But Monday, they said they believe they could have kept her 48 hours.
Barbosa's attorney, Michael Hingle, contended Monday that the mother never got the subpoena because prosecutors mistakenly served her sister. But Graber said the investigator in the case was certain he served the right person -- noting that Barbosa's sister is missing her left hand and forearm.
Neither the prosecution nor the defense is eager to take such a sticky case to trial. But negotiations to reach a plea deal so far have failed.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen filed the maximum felony charges possible against the brothers -- torture, mayhem, battery, assault and making criminal threats. But he's also countered with two sentencing offers the men have rejected.
First, he offered to reduce the seven-years-to-life sentence to a range of five to seven years for Erik and five to eight for Miguel. But defense attorneys, outraged that Rosen sought life in the first place, returned asking for a range of two to four years. Judge Jacqueline Arroyo would decide how much time to sentence them to within any agreed-upon range.
On Monday, prosecutor Graber made the second offer: four years in state prison with no credit for the six months the men have been in jail. Miguel countered with three years, and Eric sought two to four. On Tuesday, Graber will report the office's decision to defense attorneys.
