Victim, Mother Testify In Izaguirre Jury Trial
April 21, 2021 at 10:14 p.m.
Victim, Mother Testify In Izaguirre Jury Trial
By Amanda Bridgman-
Izaguirre, 32, of Warsaw, is being tried in Kosciusko Circuit Court in front of a seven-man, six-woman jury.
He is charged with three Level 1 felonies for child molesting after a family member reported in 2019 that she had been sexually abused by Izaguirre multiple times for more than a year.
Izaguirre hired attorney Jay Rigdon to represent him, and Kosciusko County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek is arguing on behalf of the state. Judge Mike Reed is presiding.
Izaguirre’s defense appears to be that he did not understand the English language well enough when he was read his Miranda rights by Warsaw Police Department Det. Paul Heaton, therefore Izaguirre falsely confessed to what he was accused of, Rigdon told jurors.
Rigdon has further contended that the victim in the case only told a friend of the accusations after the child learned Izaguirre and her mother were considering getting a divorce. Rigdon accused the child of knowing that would “get Jose out of the house.”
The state called their first witness Wednesday and brought the victim to the stand, where she was accompanied by Maverick, the county’s therapy German Shepherd.
Rigdon objected that the child be allowed to have the therapy animal with her in court, arguing it would make the jury feel sympathetic toward her. However, Sobek argued that courts allow a comfort item or animal to be with children younger than 16 when they are called in a criminal case to testify.
Reed allowed the dog.
She is now 14 years old. The alleged abuse began in 2016.
The girl testified she had lived with Izaguirre, her mother and two younger siblings since she was very young.
The child said when the family moved to Warsaw, they lived in an apartment complex and Izaguirre would force her to have sexual intercourse once a week, sometimes more.
She said she would yell, say “no,” cry and sometimes just be quiet. It hurt, she said. She said that while this was taking place, Izaguirre would yell at her, call her names, tell her she liked it, make her watch pornographic videos and then put her clothes in the washing machine after he was finished.
The child said when she was younger, Izaguirre told her if she ever told what happened, it would ruin the family. She testified she believed that threat and didn’t want her mother to struggle financially or her newborn baby sister to not have a father.
It was only in March 2019 that she decided to tell her best friend at elementary school after her friend was having suicidal thoughts.
“I told her I can relate, and I opened up to her, and then a couple weeks later the school counselor came to talk to me,” she said, saying it must have been her friend who told an adult because her friend was the only person who knew.
Rigdon asked the victim if she knew her parents were talking about getting a divorce the week she told. The child said no, but Rigdon pressed that she at least knew there were troubles in the relationship and that by telling, the child knew it would “get Jose out of the house.”
The child denied that.
Rigdon asked the child what language was spoken at home. She said it was both English and Spanish.
Next called to the stand was the victim’s mother. The woman said the family had lived with Izaguirre for about seven years, and she’s known him for 10.
The mother, through tears, recalled being called by the school and showing up to see her daughter crying and WPD detectives.
“They told me that my daughter told one of her friends that (Izaguirre) had been touching her,” she said.
They then went to WPD and Parkview hospital for follow-up.
Eventually, the woman was able to speak with Izaguirre in an interview room at WPD.
“He started apologizing for things he had done and asked me to forgive him several times. He said he had touched my daughter and he can’t take it back,” she testified.
Rigdon – bringing up the defense that Izaguirre really only understands Spanish well – asked the woman why she spoke in both English and Spanish to Izaguirre during the videotaped conversation at WPD.
The woman said she had no reasoning and that they both switch back and forth between the two languages daily at home.
The woman further stated that Izaguirre perfectly understands English, strictly spoke English to the children, strictly spoke English to her family members, watched TV in English, spoke English with his friends and even once signed up for an English class through the local YMCA to expand his vocabulary but dropped out after the first week because he told her he “already knew everything they were teaching.”
Izaguirre is accompanied at the trial by two Spanish translators.
The woman further said to Rigdon that while at WPD, she told Izaguirre in Spanish that he has a right to an attorney and doesn’t have to speak to the police if he doesn’t want to.
Rigdon had nothing further to say.
Next, the state called Melissa Stephan, a Department of Child Services case worker who conducted a forensic interview with the child.
She said she met the child at the elementary school March 29, 2019, when she was contacted by police. The child was 12 at the time.
Stephan testified the child was emotional when she first met her, spoke clearly during the interview and after the interview became physically ill in the bathroom from anxiety. Stephan referred the child to have a sexual assault evaluation done by a certified sexual assault nurse examiner.
Sarah Coburn is a sexual assault nurse examiner with the Fort Wayne Sexual Assault Treatment Center. She testified she performed an exam on the victim and found no physical injuries to the girl’s genitalia. However, Coburn said that most children victims of alleged sexual assault have no injuries, likening the organ to the mouth that heals quickly.
“Any minor injuries she may have had probably have been healed,” she said, noting that the window of time to collect evidence such as bodily fluids or DNA had long been passed.
That timeframe is within 96 hours of the last penetration. The child told her friend roughly two weeks before March 29, 2019, about the abuse, and the child testified the last time an alleged assault had occurred to her was about a month prior to her telling her friend.
Coburn testified that during the exam, the child was “quiet, cooperative, embarrassed and tearful at times.”
Witnesses will continue to be called, and the jury is expect to begin deliberations today.
Latest News
E-Editions
Izaguirre, 32, of Warsaw, is being tried in Kosciusko Circuit Court in front of a seven-man, six-woman jury.
He is charged with three Level 1 felonies for child molesting after a family member reported in 2019 that she had been sexually abused by Izaguirre multiple times for more than a year.
Izaguirre hired attorney Jay Rigdon to represent him, and Kosciusko County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek is arguing on behalf of the state. Judge Mike Reed is presiding.
Izaguirre’s defense appears to be that he did not understand the English language well enough when he was read his Miranda rights by Warsaw Police Department Det. Paul Heaton, therefore Izaguirre falsely confessed to what he was accused of, Rigdon told jurors.
Rigdon has further contended that the victim in the case only told a friend of the accusations after the child learned Izaguirre and her mother were considering getting a divorce. Rigdon accused the child of knowing that would “get Jose out of the house.”
The state called their first witness Wednesday and brought the victim to the stand, where she was accompanied by Maverick, the county’s therapy German Shepherd.
Rigdon objected that the child be allowed to have the therapy animal with her in court, arguing it would make the jury feel sympathetic toward her. However, Sobek argued that courts allow a comfort item or animal to be with children younger than 16 when they are called in a criminal case to testify.
Reed allowed the dog.
She is now 14 years old. The alleged abuse began in 2016.
The girl testified she had lived with Izaguirre, her mother and two younger siblings since she was very young.
The child said when the family moved to Warsaw, they lived in an apartment complex and Izaguirre would force her to have sexual intercourse once a week, sometimes more.
She said she would yell, say “no,” cry and sometimes just be quiet. It hurt, she said. She said that while this was taking place, Izaguirre would yell at her, call her names, tell her she liked it, make her watch pornographic videos and then put her clothes in the washing machine after he was finished.
The child said when she was younger, Izaguirre told her if she ever told what happened, it would ruin the family. She testified she believed that threat and didn’t want her mother to struggle financially or her newborn baby sister to not have a father.
It was only in March 2019 that she decided to tell her best friend at elementary school after her friend was having suicidal thoughts.
“I told her I can relate, and I opened up to her, and then a couple weeks later the school counselor came to talk to me,” she said, saying it must have been her friend who told an adult because her friend was the only person who knew.
Rigdon asked the victim if she knew her parents were talking about getting a divorce the week she told. The child said no, but Rigdon pressed that she at least knew there were troubles in the relationship and that by telling, the child knew it would “get Jose out of the house.”
The child denied that.
Rigdon asked the child what language was spoken at home. She said it was both English and Spanish.
Next called to the stand was the victim’s mother. The woman said the family had lived with Izaguirre for about seven years, and she’s known him for 10.
The mother, through tears, recalled being called by the school and showing up to see her daughter crying and WPD detectives.
“They told me that my daughter told one of her friends that (Izaguirre) had been touching her,” she said.
They then went to WPD and Parkview hospital for follow-up.
Eventually, the woman was able to speak with Izaguirre in an interview room at WPD.
“He started apologizing for things he had done and asked me to forgive him several times. He said he had touched my daughter and he can’t take it back,” she testified.
Rigdon – bringing up the defense that Izaguirre really only understands Spanish well – asked the woman why she spoke in both English and Spanish to Izaguirre during the videotaped conversation at WPD.
The woman said she had no reasoning and that they both switch back and forth between the two languages daily at home.
The woman further stated that Izaguirre perfectly understands English, strictly spoke English to the children, strictly spoke English to her family members, watched TV in English, spoke English with his friends and even once signed up for an English class through the local YMCA to expand his vocabulary but dropped out after the first week because he told her he “already knew everything they were teaching.”
Izaguirre is accompanied at the trial by two Spanish translators.
The woman further said to Rigdon that while at WPD, she told Izaguirre in Spanish that he has a right to an attorney and doesn’t have to speak to the police if he doesn’t want to.
Rigdon had nothing further to say.
Next, the state called Melissa Stephan, a Department of Child Services case worker who conducted a forensic interview with the child.
She said she met the child at the elementary school March 29, 2019, when she was contacted by police. The child was 12 at the time.
Stephan testified the child was emotional when she first met her, spoke clearly during the interview and after the interview became physically ill in the bathroom from anxiety. Stephan referred the child to have a sexual assault evaluation done by a certified sexual assault nurse examiner.
Sarah Coburn is a sexual assault nurse examiner with the Fort Wayne Sexual Assault Treatment Center. She testified she performed an exam on the victim and found no physical injuries to the girl’s genitalia. However, Coburn said that most children victims of alleged sexual assault have no injuries, likening the organ to the mouth that heals quickly.
“Any minor injuries she may have had probably have been healed,” she said, noting that the window of time to collect evidence such as bodily fluids or DNA had long been passed.
That timeframe is within 96 hours of the last penetration. The child told her friend roughly two weeks before March 29, 2019, about the abuse, and the child testified the last time an alleged assault had occurred to her was about a month prior to her telling her friend.
Coburn testified that during the exam, the child was “quiet, cooperative, embarrassed and tearful at times.”
Witnesses will continue to be called, and the jury is expect to begin deliberations today.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092