Closing arguments presented in ex-firefighter’s rape trial

During closing arguments in a months-long rape trial, jurors on Thursday heard two opposing descriptions of a relationship between a 40-year-old former Cayucos volunteer fire captain and a then-17-year-old Los Osos girl he is accused of abusing.

Oscar Higueros Jr. of Cayucos has pleaded not guilty to 35 charges including multiple counts of forcible rape, for his relationship with the girl in July and August of 2014.

Prosecutors allege that Higueros responded to an ad on Craigslist in late July 2014 and paid $150 to have sex with the girl, referred to in court as Jane Doe, who was being pimped out by Richard Scott Brooks of San Francisco. A day after they had sex, Doe moved in with Higueros after a falling-out with her mother.

Brooks, 40, has already been convicted of pimping the teen and was sentenced in a separate trial last month to 61 years and eight months to life in prison.

During the trial, the teen testified that Higueros wanted her to enter into a “master-slave” contract and compelled her to sell marijuana and make sex videos with him, which she said he planned to sell for money. She also testified that he told her he committed the unsolved 1990 murder of his father, Oscar Higueros Sr., in order to intimidate her and keep her from talking to authorities.

Prior to the defense resting its case Wednesday, jurors heard from two former girlfriends of Higueros, who both said they wanted exclusive relationships with Higueros, but that he wanted to keep the relationships casual. Both women testified that their relationships with him were mostly physical, and though they participated in light bondage, both trusted Higueros, who never did anything they didn’t agree with, they said.

Both testified that they had the ability to stop the activities if they wanted to.

On Thursday, after receiving lengthy instructions on the law by Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Duffy, the jury heard closing arguments from Deputy District Attorney Greg Devitt and Higueros’ attorney, Jay Peterson.

Devitt painted a picture of Higueros as a sexual predator who leaves a “trail of victimization” behind him with his past girlfriends, most of whom testified that they suffered from low self-esteem when they were with Higueros. Devitt cited the testimony of Sharon Cooper, a developmental and forensic pediatrician at the University of North Carolina, who stated in court that some predators seek out “throw-away children,” or underage victims with histories of abuse and little family and social support.

“He’s a devious, fiendish, horrific fisherman,” Devitt told the jury. “He casts his net and sees what he can pull in.”

During the trial, seven former girlfriends, including Doe, testified for the prosecution about physical and mental abuse they suffered during their times with Higueros, some of whom willingly consented to certain sexual activities, and one who said she was assaulted after Higueros drugged her.

“(These women) have told extremely terrifying, horrific details in front of the man who did it,” Devitt said, noting that one witness came from her new home in Texas to testify for the prosecution. “These women don’t necessarily want to be here. That’s why it’s believable.”

Each of the women were referred to in court by the last name Doe, and were often confused by the attorneys and Higueros.

“It’s like the defendant said (on the witness stand) — there’s just so many ‘Does,’” Devitt said.

During the trial, attorneys for both sides also showed jurors iPhone videos Higueros took of himself and the Los Osos teen having sex. Higueros previously testified that he learned she was underage weeks into their relationship, though he did not attempt to destroy the videos and photographs he took, and at one point texted an image to a friend. Devitt alleged that Higueros planned to sell the videos in order to make much-needed money at the time.

“Why didn’t he erase (them)? He thought he had her under control. He thought she wouldn’t talk to law enforcement,” Devitt said of the videos.

During his closing statement, defense attorney Peterson told jurors that Devitt was only trying to “play on (their) passions” and that Higueros, who he said participated in an alternative “lifestyle,” was lied to and later “sold up the river” by the Los Osos teen.

He said the teen was sexually experienced and admitted to dealing marijuana, which Higueros is accused of forcing her to do. Peterson showed jurors the sexually explicit Craigslist ad that the girl and Brooks placed, which said she was 18 and that Higueros responded to.

“This is not picking up some wayward youth on a street corner — she’s already there,” Peterson said. “She’s not a vulnerable little girl he’s preying on.”

Peterson said the prosecution failed to provide key pieces of evidence, such as pictures of bruising on the teen or providing testimony from her friend, who prosecutors said inadvertently informed Higueros of the teen’s age.

He attempted to poke holes in the testimony of Higueros’ past girlfriends who testified against him, saying each wanted exclusive relationships with Higueros and were upset that he didn’t reciprocate.

“They wanted that single commitment from Mr. Higueros, but he won’t do it. Doesn’t want to do it,” Peterson said.

He also stated that Higueros encouraged Doe to meet with a sheriff’s deputy who contacted her asking about her well-being.

Peterson referred to a recording of a phone call between Higueros and the teen in which the girl pretended to have been placed in a foster home. Instead, investigators were listening in. Peterson told jurors that Higueros was never heard threatening the teen. In the call, Higueros was heard telling the girl to “deny everything.”

“He’s scared. He knows he’s had sex with a 17-year-old,” Peterson said. “He’s been lied to and sees that she’s trying to set him up.”

Thursday’s hearing ended before Peterson completed his closing arguments. When the trial resumes Friday morning, Peterson will finish and Devitt — who bears the burden of proof — will have another chance to refute those arguments before the jury begins deliberations.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 7:44 PM with the headline "Closing arguments presented in ex-firefighter’s rape trial."