A judge declared a mistrial in the child molestation case
involving alleged cult leader Richarde Monde after the jury came
back deadlocked with a 11-1 vote in favor of the prosecution
Friday.
Hollister – A judge declared a mistrial in the child molestation case involving alleged cult leader Richarde Monde after the jury came back deadlocked with a 11-1 vote in favor of the prosecution Friday.
A series of twists and turns evolved before the hung jury finally announced 11 of them believed Monde was guilty, but one lone juror believed he was innocent of forcing a child to touch his penis in order to teach her about her sexuality.
The jury, which deliberated for two days, declared it was hopelessly stuck around 3:30pm. But San Benito County Superior Court Judge Steven Sanders ordered members to give it another go-around to see if they could come to a consensus.
During the one hour period in which the judge ordered them to continue deliberations, jurors asked to review the testimony from two of the women who spoke in defense of Monde against the molestation charge and that he brainwashed women into joining a sex cult in the hills above Aromas. But even with the testimony, jury members, who all declined comment after being dismissed a little after 5pm, still could not come to a unanimous decision.
“It was a very good jury, but we were deadlocked,” one juror said to the judge after court. “We didn’t try to hurry through it.”
While Monde, who declined comment, went home a free man Friday evening, Deputy District Attorney Denny Wei will get another crack at him when Sanders sets a second trial date Monday. Defense attorney Arthur Cantu said he is invoking Monde’s right to a speedy trial and hopes to be back before a new jury by mid-May.
“This weekend my client’s family and friends will be celebrating. We feel completely vindicated,” Cantu said. “It was really nothing more than a custody dispute that spilled over into accusations.”
Although Wei didn’t walk away with a victory this time, he said he plans to be even more prepared the second time around.
“Some of the jurors were nice enough to talk to us and we will take their recommendations and input in deciding how to present the case next time,” Wei said.
Wei wouldn’t comment on his strategy, but said that some of the witnesses who testified in the first trial will be called back to testify again.
Jurors heard two days of often sexually explicit testimony in which the 14-year-old victim testified that Monde ordered her to touch his penis when she was 7 years old. Other women, including the victim’s mother, Jessica Holt, and another woman, Wynona Tara, who is enmeshed in a child custody battle with Monde, characterized the home Monde lived in with seven women at one time as a cult where the women were routinely forced to perform sex acts on him and each other.
Several hours into their deliberations, jury members asked to revisit testimony from several of Wei’s witnesses, including Monde’s daughter and the victim. But when they couldn’t make a decision, they again asked to hear testimony from two defense witnesses who said the alleged molestation was purely accidental and that there has never been a cult. The women called to Monde’s defense testified that the victim, while playing a game the defense called “sneak on dad,” jumped on Monde while he was in bed naked and accidentally brushed up against his penis.
The fact that one juror refused to cave in to the majority and issued a vote of not guilty is proof, Cantu believes, that his client will prevail in a second trial.
“One human being was completely convinced he is not guilty,” Cantu said. “That person is a juror in this community and convinced my client did not commit any crime.”
Cantu believes Monde’s living situation and the allegations of a cult, while unusual but not illegal, probably weighed heavily on some jurors’ minds while attempting to render a decision – which could have explained the lengthy deliberation time. The attorney said in his experience with felony jury trials in San Benito County, most verdicts are returned in one to four hours.
“This is not a traditional family. That, for some people, may be difficult to understand,” he said. “That issue bears on the credibility of all the witnesses. In that respect, I’m certain (it has an affect on deliberations).”
Besides the cult and odd sexual practices allegations, the jurors were faced with Cantu’s theory that the molestation charge was fabricated by the women as a way to get custody of Tara and Monde’s young child, and the rights to the $850,000 property located in the hills above Aromas.
Although Wei introduced a witness from Hawaii who testified that Monde forced her to orally copulate him in 1986, which he said reinforced his theory that Monde had a proclivity for forced sex, Cantu argued that charges in that incident never were filed and Monde has no criminal history of sexual offenses or offenses against children.
While Cantu maintains his client’s innocence, he said he hopes the prosecution takes a second look at the case and entertains the notion of a settlement.
“It was clear there was no cult, no brainwashing,” Cantu said. “I’m hoping they reconsider prosecuting this case. It’s clear there’s not sufficient evidence to reach a guilty verdict.”
If found guilty of the felony charge, Monde could face up to three years in prison.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
