By Kianna Anvari
SACRAMENTO — Testimony in courtrooms sometimes isn’t pretty—the testimony was just ugly when a Sacramento man faced 20 counts of sexual assault against his 15-year-old daughter in a preliminary hearing in Sacramento County Superior Court this week.
The alleged victim met with Deputy Laura Mueller of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department at her high school for 45 minutes. She explained the details of Jony Pantaleon’s assault that began in her parent’s bedroom when she was nine years old.
Deputy Mueller recalled her interview with the victim during the preliminary hearing.
“He pushed her face down in the pillow so no one would hear her,” Mueller said.
Pantaleon listened to the testimony with the assistance of the court’s Spanish language interpreter.
Deputy Mueller described in detail the various sexual acts that Pantaleon would force the victim to perform from age nine to 13.
Assistant Public Defender David Grow questioned whether Mueller had recorded the interview with the victim. Mueller checked her report to find that she did not record the interview, explaining that their microphones do not always work properly.
Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Aarseth then questioned her second witness, Detective Rodolfo Roque with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department centralized investigation unit.
Detective Roque met with the alleged victim twice, where he learned of the defendant’s assault tactics of limiting phone privileges or providing alcoholic beverages. Detective Roque’s testimony aligned with Deputy Mueller’s.
Mr. Grow argued that the victim’s testimony lacked specificity from ages 10 to 13, to which DDA Aarseth argued it would be unreasonable to expect a young girl to expand further.
Judge Lawrence G. Brown found there to be sufficient cause to believe the defendant is guilty, setting an arraignment date for Sept. 2.
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