Jury decides David Alex Park, fired by Irvine police, did not sexually assault a topless dancer.
Friday, February 2, 2007
"Emotionally, it's a weight off my shoulder," David Alex Park, 31, said after the jury's verdict. "I knew I did nothing wrong to warrant this, and I'm glad 12 people agreed with me.
"It's been a long road and I am just glad it is over," he added.
Park was assigned to patrol when he pulled over a motorist, a topless dancer, on suspicion of drunken driving, on Laguna Canyon Road in the early-morning hours of Dec. 15, 2004.
Prosecutors contend that Park knew the woman was driving with a suspended license for a prior drunken-driving conviction, and threatened her with arrest or a citation unless she engaged in a sexual act with him.
The woman testified that he fondled her while he forced her to perform a sex act on him. But Park testified it was consensual sex – initiated by the woman to get out of a ticket.
Prosecutors chose to believe the woman, whose identity was made public.
They charged Park with 10 counts, including three felonies: sexual penetration by foreign object by threatening to use the authority of a public official, sexual battery and sexual battery by restraint.
Park was fired shortly after the accusations surfaced. He had been an officer for three years, and won the department's community service/policing award in 2004.
The woman also sued Irvine, settling the case for $400,000 before the trial began Jan. 23. Park and the woman both testified before the jury of 11 men and one woman.
The case came down to the credibility – or the lack thereof – of the woman, said Park's defense attorney, Al Stokke.
She lied at least 10 times, Stokke said, including testimony in which she said the incident happened after her first day back at work at Captain's Cabaret in Lake Forest.
Stokke said he later produced records that showed she had worked at the bar several times before that day.
"The primary factor in this case was consent," Stokke said. "It's safe to say they had a reasonable doubt about the credibility of her testimony."
He also questioned prosecutors' judgment with charging his client with charges that could have landed Park in prison for 10 years.
"They overcharged this case,'' he said.
Deputy District Attorney Shaddi Kamiabipour said authorities believed the woman. The woman, she added, is now a salesperson.
"I'm disappointed by the verdict, but I respect the jury's decision,'' she said.
Prosecutors are also pursuing a similar case against a former Anaheim police officer.
Bradley Stewart Wagner faces more than 10 years in prison if convicted of false imprisonment and sexual battery.
He was arrested in November 2005 when an undocumented woman said he threatened to have her deported if she did not have sex with him. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 5.
Original link: http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1562885.php
