Miss-Delectable
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20060215-1608-deafrape.html
VISTA – A deaf ex-convict was convicted Wednesday of raping a deaf woman several times during an overnight ordeal in San Marcos just months after getting out of prison for a similar assault.
A Vista Superior Court jury convicted 31-year-old Henry Ivan Cogswell of three counts of forcible rape, along with forcible oral copulation and rape with a foreign object.
Because of his prior rape conviction, Cogswell faces life in prison.
The victim, who now lives out of state, reported that she was assaulted in her car in the area around the defendant's Smilax Road apartment building on June 9, 2004.
She refused to testify at the trial. But at the defendant's preliminary hearing in late 2004, she described being assaulted by Cogswell several times in the back seat of the vehicle.
The transcript of her testimony was read into the trial record by prosecutor Christine Trevino and Deputy District Attorney Terri Perez.
In 1997, the defendant was imprisoned for six years for raping his girlfriend, who is also deaf. They resumed their relationship when he was released but have since parted ways.
The ex-girlfriend, who testified at the trial via American Sign Language interpreters, said Cogswell brought up the subject of rape the night before the victim in the latest case confronted her about his behavior.
The girlfriend testified that she was the one who suggested to the victim that Cogswell might have raped her. The woman contacted authorities soon after.
In his closing argument yesterday, defense attorney Oliver Cleary said the woman's story was questionable. He contended she had a chance during the night to escape, and later climbed into the back seat even though she knew the defendant wanted sex.
Trevino countered that adults don't normally have consensual relations in the back seat of a car. Since the victim knew the defendant as part of a tight-knit Southern California deaf community, they could have had consensual relations if they wanted, Trevino said.
"Do we know how a rape victim acts? Isn't it different for every rape victim?" the prosecutor said.
Two ASL interpreters relayed courtroom testimony to the defendant, and two more were used when his former girlfriend testified. One in each group signed the testimony while the other watched and listened for accuracy.
The jurors' job wasn't finished with today's verdict. They've been asked to make findings on Cogswell's prior convictions, and will begin deliberating those issues Thursday, when a sentencing date is also expected to be set.
VISTA – A deaf ex-convict was convicted Wednesday of raping a deaf woman several times during an overnight ordeal in San Marcos just months after getting out of prison for a similar assault.
A Vista Superior Court jury convicted 31-year-old Henry Ivan Cogswell of three counts of forcible rape, along with forcible oral copulation and rape with a foreign object.
Because of his prior rape conviction, Cogswell faces life in prison.
The victim, who now lives out of state, reported that she was assaulted in her car in the area around the defendant's Smilax Road apartment building on June 9, 2004.
She refused to testify at the trial. But at the defendant's preliminary hearing in late 2004, she described being assaulted by Cogswell several times in the back seat of the vehicle.
The transcript of her testimony was read into the trial record by prosecutor Christine Trevino and Deputy District Attorney Terri Perez.
In 1997, the defendant was imprisoned for six years for raping his girlfriend, who is also deaf. They resumed their relationship when he was released but have since parted ways.
The ex-girlfriend, who testified at the trial via American Sign Language interpreters, said Cogswell brought up the subject of rape the night before the victim in the latest case confronted her about his behavior.
The girlfriend testified that she was the one who suggested to the victim that Cogswell might have raped her. The woman contacted authorities soon after.
In his closing argument yesterday, defense attorney Oliver Cleary said the woman's story was questionable. He contended she had a chance during the night to escape, and later climbed into the back seat even though she knew the defendant wanted sex.
Trevino countered that adults don't normally have consensual relations in the back seat of a car. Since the victim knew the defendant as part of a tight-knit Southern California deaf community, they could have had consensual relations if they wanted, Trevino said.
"Do we know how a rape victim acts? Isn't it different for every rape victim?" the prosecutor said.
Two ASL interpreters relayed courtroom testimony to the defendant, and two more were used when his former girlfriend testified. One in each group signed the testimony while the other watched and listened for accuracy.
The jurors' job wasn't finished with today's verdict. They've been asked to make findings on Cogswell's prior convictions, and will begin deliberating those issues Thursday, when a sentencing date is also expected to be set.