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Jurors Deliberate in Child Molest Case Involving CHP Officer

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Defense Attorney Bob Espinosa reminded jurors his client Johnnie Swaim looked them in the eye and said he did not molest the two girls who have accused him.

"How do you prove it. Mr. Swaim denied that from 1997 to 1999," Espinosa said.

The two girls are sisters and Espinosa says the older of the two just wanted attention.

"No proof was ever presented to you by this prosecutor or by any body else that it happened in between those dates," Espinosa said.

The two girls told their mom and friends that Swaim molested them when they were 5 and 7. The defense says the younger sister said it was all a lie. She said her older sister pressured her to say something happened.

"Where a young child then sets up her sister," Espinosa said.

Swaim's cousin Monica Torres claims Swaim molested her.

"It is very common for it to be silent and hidden and fear and I think that with this case being brought forward and hearing about it I hope that people can hear this today and know that it’s ok to speak up," Torres said.

Aarika Sanchez, swaim’s stepdaughter, watched the proceedings. Sanchez accused swaim of molesting her, they went to trial in the 90s and Swaim was acquitted.

"If they say guilty that’s going to be closer for me to. Everything that happened it wasn’t what we wanted but at the end there was justice and he will pay what he did," Sanchez said.

"The people presented a lot of evidence. and we felt like it was evidence to prove the case. We put on the best case we could. The witnesses were courageous and they came forward and testified," Prosecutor Heather Trapnell said.

Now it’s up to the jurors to decide whether Johnnie Swaim is guilty or not of molesting the two girls.


 

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