MONROE - A former Monroe man was declared not guilty on charges of sexually assaulting a woman, bringing to a close a three-day trial Friday.
Derek James Larosh, 29, Rock Springs, was found not guilty on two Class C felony counts of second-degree sexual assault of an unconscious victim and through the use of force and four misdemeanor counts of bail jumping.
After approximately three hours of deliberation, a jury of nine men and three women issued a unanimous "not guilty" verdict on all six charges Friday. Larosh avoided a potential sentence of 50 years in prison.
After two days of testimony from Larosh, the victim and several witnesses, Larosh's attorney, William Ginsberg, said the prosecution, led by assistant District Attorney Laura Kohl, had no way to prove that the woman involved in the charges was unconscious.
"The state is not trying to prove that he had sex with an intoxicated or an impaired woman," Ginsberg said in his closing argument. "The charges are that he had sex with an unconscious woman."
Kohl attempted to prove the woman's unconsciousness through the testimony of a witness who said that the woman was too intoxicated to speak or walk in the morning hours of July 27, 2014, contradicting Larosh's testimony that the woman was alert and conscious.
"The only version of events that contradicts a guilty verdict is Larosh's," Kohl said in her closing argument. "It doesn't match the evidence; it doesn't even match itself."
However, because the woman had no memory of the events - save for a brief window where she said she remembered a man having sex with her while she attempted to scream - Ginsberg said there was no evidence that the woman did not experience a "blackout" through overconsumption of alcohol, losing her memories of initiating sexual contact with Larosh.
Ginsberg, who produced two treatises on the effects of alcohol on memory retention, said that the state, despite what he claimed were "unlimited resources," had been unable to produce any rebuttal to the possibility of a blackout.
However, Kohl had before called Ginsberg's treatises irrelevant, as they did not prove that the woman's memory of awakening and attempting to scream were false.
The woman, Ginsberg said, was herself uncertain as to what had happened during the incident, as she had told a nurse that "it was possible" that she had performed sexual acts with Larosh while intoxicated.
"In all of her testimony, she never reports "I said "no,"'" Ginsberg said. "She never reports "I said "stop."'"
Kohl and Ginsberg delivered their arguments for approximately two hours, focusing primarily on the issue of the victim's memory, but touching on other subjects, such as the meaning of various Facebook conversations between the parties involved, the permeability of drywall to sound and the nature of the superficial injuries found on the woman.
Derek James Larosh, 29, Rock Springs, was found not guilty on two Class C felony counts of second-degree sexual assault of an unconscious victim and through the use of force and four misdemeanor counts of bail jumping.
After approximately three hours of deliberation, a jury of nine men and three women issued a unanimous "not guilty" verdict on all six charges Friday. Larosh avoided a potential sentence of 50 years in prison.
After two days of testimony from Larosh, the victim and several witnesses, Larosh's attorney, William Ginsberg, said the prosecution, led by assistant District Attorney Laura Kohl, had no way to prove that the woman involved in the charges was unconscious.
"The state is not trying to prove that he had sex with an intoxicated or an impaired woman," Ginsberg said in his closing argument. "The charges are that he had sex with an unconscious woman."
Kohl attempted to prove the woman's unconsciousness through the testimony of a witness who said that the woman was too intoxicated to speak or walk in the morning hours of July 27, 2014, contradicting Larosh's testimony that the woman was alert and conscious.
"The only version of events that contradicts a guilty verdict is Larosh's," Kohl said in her closing argument. "It doesn't match the evidence; it doesn't even match itself."
However, because the woman had no memory of the events - save for a brief window where she said she remembered a man having sex with her while she attempted to scream - Ginsberg said there was no evidence that the woman did not experience a "blackout" through overconsumption of alcohol, losing her memories of initiating sexual contact with Larosh.
Ginsberg, who produced two treatises on the effects of alcohol on memory retention, said that the state, despite what he claimed were "unlimited resources," had been unable to produce any rebuttal to the possibility of a blackout.
However, Kohl had before called Ginsberg's treatises irrelevant, as they did not prove that the woman's memory of awakening and attempting to scream were false.
The woman, Ginsberg said, was herself uncertain as to what had happened during the incident, as she had told a nurse that "it was possible" that she had performed sexual acts with Larosh while intoxicated.
"In all of her testimony, she never reports "I said "no,"'" Ginsberg said. "She never reports "I said "stop."'"
Kohl and Ginsberg delivered their arguments for approximately two hours, focusing primarily on the issue of the victim's memory, but touching on other subjects, such as the meaning of various Facebook conversations between the parties involved, the permeability of drywall to sound and the nature of the superficial injuries found on the woman.