MONROE - Before a jury Thursday, Aug. 1, two young sisters recanted accusations they made against a 33-year-old Brodhead man of repeatedly sexually assaulting them.
The older of the two girls broke down into sobs during questioning from Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Kohl, and the trial had to be halted while she was ushered out to recover. She only agreed to continue questioning if she could write her answers and let the court's victim witness specialist read them aloud.
In writing, she said "nothing happened" with the man, Norberto Santiago-Castellanos. He faces two Class A felony counts of repeated sexual assault of a child and a Class I felony count of exposing a child to pornography, filed against him in May 2012. The girls were both under 10 at the time.
Thursday was the second day of what is scheduled to be a three-day jury trial.
The girl's spoken testimony didn't last long. She smiled at the judge and attorneys at first, but her eyes flitted nervously to where Santiago-Castellanos was sitting in the courtroom as she began answering Kohl's questions.
The question Kohl asked that set off her crying contained language she had used in a videotaped interview earlier last year, when she was 8. Kohl asked her if Santiago-Castellanos put his "wee-wee" in her "pee-pee," an allegation she had described in detail last year.
At this, her composure cracked and her voice twisted with emotion.
"I don't want to answer that," she replied. Only after the judge met with her privately did she agree to answer specific questions and only in writing.
While writing answers to public defender Frank Medina's questions, she denied that anyone was telling her what to say and denied being afraid of Santiago-Castellanos.
Her younger sister also denied that the defendant ever "did bad touching" to her.
Their testimony Thursday contradicts detailed statements they made to investigators last year. At that time, they alleged Santiago-Castellanos had regular vaginal and anal intercourse with them.
Their mother accompanied them Thursday in the courtroom and sat behind them while they testified. Separately, she testified that the girls' stories haven't been consistent.
"She says different things to different people. She can never remember exactly what happened," the mother said of the older girl. Concentration and memory issues are a problem in general for the girl, she added. The girl struggles academically and often loses track of what she's talking about.
The younger girl just parrots her older sister, the mother said.
When asked where the girls would have learned such detailed knowledge of sexual matters, the mother said she didn't know but it could have been from the various people who babysit them.
The girls are key witnesses in the case. No other evidence presented in court, beyond their videotaped accusations, has suggested Santiago-Castellanos assaulted them.
There is no physical evidence, but a lack of physical damage doesn't necessarily exclude the possibility they were assaulted, according to the Monroe Clinic nurse who examined the girls. "It is possible to have a sexual assault without finding evidence," she told the court.
Recantations in sexual assault cases are more likely to occur under certain circumstances, according to the social worker who originally interviewed the girls last year about their allegations. Children are more likely to recant allegations when the abuser is a parent and when the other parent is not supportive, she told the court.
The trial Thursday ended with a screening of a Brodhead police officer's videotaped interview with Santiago-Castellanos last spring. A Mexico native whose English is remedial, Santiago-Castellanos used simple words to explain his version of what happened with the girls. In court, he has been provided an interpreter, but was not for his interview with police.
In the video, he denied ever having sex with the girls and said he suspects another man of touching one of the girls sexually and an aunt of showing her R-rated movies. The older girl had been acting out sexually, he said - trying to take off his boxers while he sleeps, jumping on him and kissing him on the mouth.
The trial continues today, Aug. 2. Yet left to cover are the allegations that Santiago-Castellanos showed porn to the older girl. Judge Thomas Vale gave his permission to show the jury pornography seized off a computer in the defendant's home, as well as evidence of terms searched on a porn website. None of the porn involves children.
Medina, the public defender, said he does not plan to call his client as a witness during the trial.
The older of the two girls broke down into sobs during questioning from Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Kohl, and the trial had to be halted while she was ushered out to recover. She only agreed to continue questioning if she could write her answers and let the court's victim witness specialist read them aloud.
In writing, she said "nothing happened" with the man, Norberto Santiago-Castellanos. He faces two Class A felony counts of repeated sexual assault of a child and a Class I felony count of exposing a child to pornography, filed against him in May 2012. The girls were both under 10 at the time.
Thursday was the second day of what is scheduled to be a three-day jury trial.
The girl's spoken testimony didn't last long. She smiled at the judge and attorneys at first, but her eyes flitted nervously to where Santiago-Castellanos was sitting in the courtroom as she began answering Kohl's questions.
The question Kohl asked that set off her crying contained language she had used in a videotaped interview earlier last year, when she was 8. Kohl asked her if Santiago-Castellanos put his "wee-wee" in her "pee-pee," an allegation she had described in detail last year.
At this, her composure cracked and her voice twisted with emotion.
"I don't want to answer that," she replied. Only after the judge met with her privately did she agree to answer specific questions and only in writing.
While writing answers to public defender Frank Medina's questions, she denied that anyone was telling her what to say and denied being afraid of Santiago-Castellanos.
Her younger sister also denied that the defendant ever "did bad touching" to her.
Their testimony Thursday contradicts detailed statements they made to investigators last year. At that time, they alleged Santiago-Castellanos had regular vaginal and anal intercourse with them.
Their mother accompanied them Thursday in the courtroom and sat behind them while they testified. Separately, she testified that the girls' stories haven't been consistent.
"She says different things to different people. She can never remember exactly what happened," the mother said of the older girl. Concentration and memory issues are a problem in general for the girl, she added. The girl struggles academically and often loses track of what she's talking about.
The younger girl just parrots her older sister, the mother said.
When asked where the girls would have learned such detailed knowledge of sexual matters, the mother said she didn't know but it could have been from the various people who babysit them.
The girls are key witnesses in the case. No other evidence presented in court, beyond their videotaped accusations, has suggested Santiago-Castellanos assaulted them.
There is no physical evidence, but a lack of physical damage doesn't necessarily exclude the possibility they were assaulted, according to the Monroe Clinic nurse who examined the girls. "It is possible to have a sexual assault without finding evidence," she told the court.
Recantations in sexual assault cases are more likely to occur under certain circumstances, according to the social worker who originally interviewed the girls last year about their allegations. Children are more likely to recant allegations when the abuser is a parent and when the other parent is not supportive, she told the court.
The trial Thursday ended with a screening of a Brodhead police officer's videotaped interview with Santiago-Castellanos last spring. A Mexico native whose English is remedial, Santiago-Castellanos used simple words to explain his version of what happened with the girls. In court, he has been provided an interpreter, but was not for his interview with police.
In the video, he denied ever having sex with the girls and said he suspects another man of touching one of the girls sexually and an aunt of showing her R-rated movies. The older girl had been acting out sexually, he said - trying to take off his boxers while he sleeps, jumping on him and kissing him on the mouth.
The trial continues today, Aug. 2. Yet left to cover are the allegations that Santiago-Castellanos showed porn to the older girl. Judge Thomas Vale gave his permission to show the jury pornography seized off a computer in the defendant's home, as well as evidence of terms searched on a porn website. None of the porn involves children.
Medina, the public defender, said he does not plan to call his client as a witness during the trial.