Did SLO County barber sexually assault underage girls? It’s up to the jury to decide now
Editor’s note: This story mentions sexual assault.
Was an Atascadero barber a serial rapist who targeted and isolated young women, including minors, in order to force them into sexual acts? Or are the allegations brought against him a result of lies and contaminated memories?
It’s now up to a jury made up of five women and seven men who have heard evidence for approximately 21 hours across seven court days to decide whether Nate Abate is guilty of two counts of rape by force, one count of rape by intoxication and one count of oral copulation of a minor.
On Wednesday, jurors were sent to begin deliberations after the prosecution and defense presented their closing arguments.
Five alleged victims testified in the trial. Ashley, Lauren and Tiffany have accused Abate of sexual assaults, while Carina and Jennifer were corroborating witnesses to show Abate’s alleged history of sexual assault.
Jennifer was 22 at the time of her assault, Ashley was 21, Tiffany was 14, Lauren was 14 or 15 and Carina was 13. All were identified in court only by their first names.
That was after psychologists testified on Monday and Tuesday on behalf of the prosecution and defense. Both stated that it is unlikely for the core details of a traumatic event to change or be remembered incorrectly, while smaller details , like the color of the wall, may not be recorded by the brain and are more susceptible to being “contaminated,” or influenced by a suggestion.
Zachary Suddjian also testified Monday that he was the person who drove Ashley and her friend to and from Abate’s house the night she said she was assaulted.
He said when he picked up the two from the house, they were extremely upset. He said the impression he got was that Julian Contreras, Abate’s friend who is also accused of sexual assault, and Abate switched having sex with the two girls without their knowledge, but he wasn’t sure of all the details the girls were upset about.
Defendant had a sexual assault routine
San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Kimberly Dittrich argued Ashley revealed a serial rapist when she first posted about her assault on social media in 2022.
Ashley’s posts “shine a light on what (Abate) did in silence and in the dark” and showed that he had a routine when he’d assault women, Dittrich said.
He would chose someone vulnerable, often underage, and then partner with his “buddy” Contreras to provide drugs and alcohol and force them into sexual acts, Dittrich said.
He often would choose young women who would be inherently scared to speak up and unable to fight him off, Dittrich said. She added how Carina’s testimony showed Abate scared her into silence, even if he didn’t say anything directly.
“He counted on their silence because they were young, because they felt guilty about sneaking out and drinking underage. They were ashamed. They were embarrassed,” Dittrich said. “He purposely picked young women, women that he thought he could silence. Often times when they would try to say something, he dismissed them.”
Only Ashley didn’t stay quiet, Dittrich said.
She continued to tell people about her assault, and when she posted on Instagram, it gave other women the strength to come forward. It also prompted law enforcement to contact her and other victims to finally investigate the crimes that had been going on for at least a decade, she said.
“Make no mistake, we are all here because of what he did,” Dittrich said, pointing at Abate.
Dittrich walked the jury through all of the witness testimony they heard and how she believed the law applied to each case to find Abate guilty.
“As you listened to each one come in here and talk about their unique and individual story, it was fascinating, terrifying when you piece it all together, when you finally look at the whole thing to see how dangerous he has been and what he’s been capable of,” she told the jury.
Under the law, the jury just has to believe the complaining witness in order to convict Abate, Dittrich said, but the prosecution showed what it said was additional corroboration.
Other witnesses confirmed parties with underage girls occurred at Contreras’ mother’s house in Santa Margarita, Suddjian confirmed he drove Ashley to and from Abate’s home and that she was upset afterward, and Carina and Jennifer corroborated that Abate had a routine when it came to sexually assaulting women, Dittrich said.
She asked the jury to find Abate guilty on all counts.
Defense attorney argues alleged victims lied about assaults, recruited others
Defense attorney Scott Taylor argued the case against Abate was one of recruitment and contaminated memories. He claimed both Ashley and Carina recruited women to come forward with allegations against Abate and contaminated their memories by sharing their story with them.
He said if the jury looked at all the evidence, they would find that there were contradictory statements that made the victims’ testimonies untruthful.
“Believe all women — great for law enforcement, when you’re starting an investigation. Great in a therapeutic setting. It’s even acceptable on Instagram and Twitter, but this is not Instagram and it’s not a therapeutic situation,” Taylor said.
He claimed the Me Too movement in 2017 was started to hold powerful men accountable for using their resources to silence victims, adding that Abate is not a powerful man.
“He’s a barber in Atascadero. He has no resources. He’s not powerful, and he has no influence,” Taylor said. “All respect to him, he’s not a senator’s son.”
He claimed that both Ashley and Carina lied about their assaults, which either motivated others to come forward and lie about being assaulted or contaminated the memories of the other women who testified.
Taylor argued Carina lied to protect Contreras in 2009 with her assault and used Abate as a scapegoat, and then when it came to Lauren and Tiffany, when they spoke with each other, they either decided to also use Abate as a scapegoat or possibly had their memories contaminated with Carina’s suggestion their assaulter was Abate.
Taylor also argued Ashley lied and then collected stories from women on Instagram by reposting a message that asked for victims to reach out to her, claiming she “tainted the case from the beginning” by sending a “social media mob” against Abate’s business.
He also suggested Lauren may have lied about her sexual assault in order to lessen her punishment for sneaking out.
“What’s the easiest lie in the world to tell? In that moment, anyone who has daughters, I know a lot of you have kids, ‘Oh, I was sexually assaulted,’” Taylor told the jury.
He claimed its not probable for women to “magically remember” details about an assault that occurred 10 years ago, and added that there were no documents or texts that could back up many claims by the victims.
He also claimed that Suddjian’s testimony was a “devastating blow” the prosecution “could not come back from” because he testified the his impression was Ashley and her friend were upset about Abate and Contreras switching, not an assault.
Taylor added that Tiffany requesting $100 million in restitution and testifying she wants to take everything Abate has shows she had a financial motivation to come forward.
He asked the jury to find his client innocent of all charges.
Prosecutor asks jury to find defendant guilty on all counts
In response to Taylor’s argument, Dittrich said the details between the victim’s stories are similar because the incidents were similar — Abate had a routine, she repeated.
She said Jennifer never spoke with any of the other victims, and Ashley never spoke with Lauren or Tiffany. Ashley and Carina both testified about their few conversations, which did not include the details of their assaults or testimonies, and Ashley’s communications with other victims who reached out to her were limited to saying “I’m sorry that happened to you” and referring them to law enforcement, Dittrich said.
“Trust me, if there was recruitment, collusion and telling each other what to do, you bet those messages would be before you,” Dittrich told the jury.
She said that Tiffany testified she asked for the $100 million in restitution because there’s no price on her innocence, adding that she knew Abate did not have that amount of money.
Dittrich reiterated that each victim’s case had plenty of evidence to find Abate guilty of all crimes, adding that Taylor was misstating the evidence.
“I have given you the victims. They have all come in here. They are all very clear on exactly what he did,” she said. “They’re clear on who did it, when it happened. They looked right at him. None of them were confused.”
She again asked the jury to find Abate guilty on all counts.
The jury began deliberations around 4 p.m. Wednesday and returned to court to continue deliberating at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
If you or someone you know are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673. The hotline offers a range of free services including confidential support from a trained staff member, help finding a local health facility, legal and medical advice and referrals for long-term support. Survivor support and resources are also available through Lumina Alliance at luminaalliance.org or their Crisis and Information Line at 805-545-8888.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 12:09 PM.
