By Nico Ludwig-Stock and Citlalli Florez
MODESTO, CA – In an early case management conference here in Stanislaus County Superior Court Wednesday, the accused faced bail 10 times the amount of what his family could afford, even though the $100,000 bail is much less than the prosecution’s request for $750,000.
The man stands accused of child molestation by his wife’s daughter, though the accused’s wife appeared in court to testify on the accused’s behalf.
During the hearing, the accused was present with his privately retained defense attorney Allen Sawyer. The hearing was set for a case management conference and bail review.
Defense attorney Sawyer said the accused “was previously released on this case once already and I just wanted to make it clear to the court that there is no issue of any incident with the victim or anything related to that.”
Sawyer continued, saying “he has his mother in the audience right now and she’s agreed to let him stay with her if the court were so inclined to let him be released so that we can be assured that he will have no contact with the victim. The victim will continue to reside with the mother, my client’s wife.”
The accused’s “wife” and victim’s mother took the stand to testify as a witness in regard to the bail bond. Until the alleged incident, the accused and witness lived together for 15 years. The witness has four children, with three of the children belonging to both her and the accused; all the children were coparented together, including the victim.
On direct examination by defense counsel Sawyer, the witness discussed her daughter’s mental health history and behavior. She had also described the accused’s behavior during their entire time together.
For the purpose of the bail bond, Sawyer asked the witness about the accused’s finances, and the wife said the accused worked at the time of the allegation, but is no longer employed.
The wife added that “right now I am not working at the moment” and she does not own her own home. Following a fire this year in which “everything was destroyed,” she no longer has assets and would not be able to afford a large bail amount. She said she could pay $5,000 or “maybe about $10,000” maximum.
On cross-examination by Deputy District Attorney Samuel Luzadas, the witness stated her daughter said she did not want the accused to be arrested because “she doesn’t want the family to be financially struggling.”
Defense counsel Sawyer said, “I believe there are primarily two issues that are the main focus of the bail hearing. One is his likelihood of returning to court to face these charges and the other is public safety and I believe that there is no stronger argument than how he has behaved already.”
Defense Attorney Sawyer added, “He knew the nature of these allegations and was arrested and he went nowhere. He went to work, he went home, and he called a lawyer because he wanted to fight these charges… so I think the likelihood of him coming to court—he has ties in the community, he has children in the community, his wife lives here, his mom is here, he’s going to fight these charges and he is coming to court.”
Sawyer stated that “he has no history of any bench warrants or any criminal behavior that would lead the court to believe that he has not been a good citizen in the community and I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt that he would show up to court.”
The defense attorney also addressed the issue of public safety, arguing that “similarly once the charges were made he had the opportunity to get out of custody again, but he did absolutely nothing, directed no negativity, no conduct whatsoever towards the victim of this case. He has no criminal history he would (pose) a threat and violence, but in addition to that he is willing to agree to any condition that the court wants to impose to ensure the safety of the public.”
While discussing bail, Sawyer said the accused “would like an opportunity to go to work because financially they are under a lot of hardship.”
DDA Luzadas, who initially requested $750,000 bail, said, under the allegations, the bail amount is set as appropriate, arguing, “How the mother feels about this situation does cause concern for the People so I do fear what the situation would be if (the accused) was released.”
Judge Shawn Bessey set the accused’s bail at $100,000, stating, “The court has to take the allegations as true for purposes of bail review… not as it relates to any evidentiary value.”
