by Monica Velez
On the afternoon of January 14, 2016, the alleged victim, “Sam,” testifying against Edward Hendrix, took the stand. Hendrix is being charged with a lewd act toward a minor under the age of 14.
Deputy Public Defender Dan Hutchinson began, in cross-examination, questioning Sam after the lunch break about a conversation she had on Instagram with her friend. In the conversation Sam was making derogatory statements about black men and their penises, using the “N” word frequently.
When asked, Sam said that some of the jokes in the conversation she got from the television show American Dad and the movie White Chicks.
Sam told Hutchinson that the conversation was supposed to be a joke, and that she didn’t really believe all the things she was saying were true.
Hutchinson also asked Sam about her past history of lying to her mom, with Sam saying that she has lied to her mom about having boyfriends and other things she does not feel comfortable telling her.
During an interview with the deputy district attorney handling this case, Michelle Serafin, Sam lied about an old boyfriend she had, saying he was just an old friend. Sam’s mom was the one who told Serafin that Sam was not telling the truth, and told Sam to start being 100 percent honest.
Sam said she was hoping her mom would be the one to tell DDA Serafin the truth because she was embarrassed to say it.
Hutchinson then started questioning Sam about the night of October 10, 2014, going minute by minute over what happened after her grandmother dropped her off at her cheerleading coach’s house to spend the night.
Sam said that when she got to her coach’s house, Hendrix answered the door, telling Sam that the coach was not home yet, then called the coach and gave her the phone. Sam said that her coach was leaving Woodland High School and would be getting there in about 10 minutes.
Hendrix let Sam in and told her she could sit on the coach and watch television while she waited, then Hendrix went back into a bedroom. Sam said that Hendrix was not being rude, but was being nice and polite.
After a few minutes Sam said Hendrix came out of his room and walked into the kitchen past her, took alcohol out of the freezer, poured him self a shot and drank it. He then asked Sam how old she was and she replied 12, then he said, “Damn you’re good for a 12-year-old.”
Sam replied “thanks” to him, and she told Hutchinson that Hendrix’s remark made her feel uncomfortable.
Sam said Hendrix then walked toward her and asked her to give him a hug. She said she got up and gave him a hug because she was scared. When he hugged her he moved his hands down, touched her butt and then kissed her cheek.
Sam said Hendrix then asked her, “Are we going to do this?” Sam said she thought he was talking about having sex and then she denied him, saying she did not want to do anything. Hendrix then replied, saying Sam was teasing him, but did not force her to do anything.
Sam said Hendrix told her to pinky promise him that she wouldn’t tell anybody about this conversation, and Sam said she complied.
Hutchinson asked Sam about how many minutes all of this took, and Sam said about 10 minutes. After Hendrix went back to his room, Sam texted two different friends who were also on the cheerleading team.
She told them what happened and both friends were telling her to leave and get out of there. One of her friends even offered to come pick her up, “no questions asked,” but Sam did not take the offer, saying she did not want to leave before the coach got there because it would look like something was wrong.
Sam told her friends she was scared and was shaking, and told Hutchinson that she was tearing up. Hutchinson pressed her on why she did not get out of the house, when there was gas station less than a minute away and people offering to pick her up.
Sam said that she did not want to inconvenience her friend.
“I was in shock and I didn’t know what to do,” said Sam.
Sam also told her friend that she had called her mom but she was not answering, however there were no records of Sam making these calls to her mom, and Sam admitted that she had lied to her friend about calling her mom.
Hutchinson then began to ask her about previous interviews she has had with DDA Serafin. In an interview that took place 12 days after the incident, Sam said that Hendrix came out of the bedroom two different times, while now she was saying that he only came out once.
Hutchinson asked her if she was lying, because he only wanted to get at the truth, and Sam said she did not remember, because it was a long time ago.
In another previous interview Sam had said that Hendrix seemed drunk to her, acting “loopy” and smelling of a lot of alcohol. However, Sam’s grandmother told Serafin in an interview that Hendrix was not drunk or did not seem drunk when she dropped off Sam.
Sam said that when her coach got to the house she greeted Sam, asking her how she was and saying that she could sleep in the coach’s youngest daughter’s room. Sam did not say anything about what happened with Hendrix to her coach.
Sam told her grandmother, and told Serafin in a previous interview, that she heard the coach and Hendrix arguing in the bedroom, but during testimony she told Hutchinson that they were only talking.
Frustrated with wanting to get at the truth, Hutchinson asked Sam, “Were you lying to Ms. Serafin or are you lying to this jury?”
Sam responded and said that she was lying to the jury and did not mean to because she did not remember telling her grandmother or Serafin that they were arguing.
