When a teenage accuser in a local sexual assault case took the stand in late June, he physically attacked the suspect. The rare instance in a courtroom led to an almost immediate mistrial declaration because jurors watched it unfold.
Now, prosecutors are preparing to schedule a new trial date for suspect Jose Silva, 33, accused of sexually assaulting that teenage male in March 2015, said Deputy District Attorney Karen Forcum in an interview with the Free Lance.
Forcum talked about the case and the courtroom attack, which she witnessed as a prosecutor, with the newspaper. She said the district attorney’s office is “in the process of looking at a new trial date” for Silva.
Silva is accused on the charge of sexual assault of a minor, relating to accusations that he raped the teenage boy in a Hollister home nearly 18 months ago.
With the courtroom attack, however, the prosecution of the case is “back at square one,” Forcum said.
“It’s certainly unfortunate because we were in the third day of the trial,” Forcum went on. “It was my hope that the victim would finally get some relief after having testified.”
That didn’t happen. Instead, while attorneys in the courtroom discussed a legal issue that had come up with the judge, the accuser lunged from the witness stand and attacked the suspect, according to witnesses in the courtroom that day. Sheriff’s deputy bailiffs had to pull the accuser off the suspect during the altercation. Jurors witnessed the situation while they were on their way out of the courtroom for the private legal talk.
“Certainly, our bailiffs do a great job of watching out for security issues,” Forcum said. “They kind of sensed something was up.”
As for any potential repercussion against the teenager, for his actions while on the stand, Forcum said she wouldn’t have jurisdiction over such a youth case and that she wouldn’t comment if she did.
The district attorney’s office does try to prepare witnesses like the teenager for the courtroom experience, she said.
“Well with witnesses, especially children victims, we try to advise them of what they’re going to be facing in court,” she said.
Forcum said prosecutors will take victims to the courtroom to show where various players will take part. With everything to take in, the prosecutor said it can be “overwhelming” at times for accusers.
“And so the difficulty is, not only will they be seeing the person they’re stating did these sexual offenses with them, then we have to make sure they understand there’s going to be 12 jurors and two alternates sitting in the jury box talking about these things,” said Forcum, who hadn’t previously witnessed such an attack as a prosecutor.
