LAKEPORT — The trial of a Kelseyville man accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl came to an end at about noon Thursday and the jury began deliberations.
Brian Barrett Stasko, 22, who faces charges including aggravated assault on a minor, oral copulation and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, heard closing arguments from both attorneys and his future now rests in the hands of a jury.
Stasko”s charges stem from at least one of two nights in November of last year when he was 21 years old. During one of those nights, Stasko allegedly took advantage of the girl in a bedroom of his residence.
A nurse testified during the trial that after examining and interviewing the alleged victim, her findings were consistent with acts of sexual intercourse. The nurse, however, did not testify to finding a connection between the acts and Stasko.
Stasko, who witnesses said plans to join the military and subsequently a law enforcement agency, kept a focused demeanor throughout the closing arguments and occasionally took notes.
Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg, who gave his closing argument first, focused on the alleged victim”s testimony, in which she described the sexual acts that were done to her. Borg argued that the alleged victim”s testimony was the most credible because it included the most detail and the clearest accounts of the events.
Borg argued that the alleged victim”s memory is the most reliable because what reportedly happened to her was not the sort of thing people forget easily. To other people it was just another party at Stasko”s.
Borg argued that the accounts by other witnesses had numerous inconsistencies and lacked credibility.
Borg also closed in on the thought that the alleged victim did something many girls her age do, which is to test boundaries and aspire to act older than their age. He said that the difference was that her story ended badly.
Melton started his closing argument with a simple concept he would elaborate on throughout his statement.
“Too many stories, two months late, too many inconsistencies,” Melton said.
Melton argued that even the alleged victim”s testimony had inconsistencies, and insisted that Stasko”s guilt was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt throughout the trial.
Melton said that the alleged victim initially told investigators that she had only been to Stasko”s residence once, a statement that was later changed by the alleged victim, who confirmed she had been there twice.
He also argued that no link was established between Stasko and the alleged victim in the accounts of the other testimonies.
Melton later shifted the focus from Stasko and suggested that there were other men at the two parties when the alleged acts happened. He insisted that those men could have conceivable committed the crimes. He focused on two men in particular who, according to testimonies from the two minors, were in constant interaction with the two girls. One of whom allegedly communicated through text messages with the alleged victim prior to the second party. Both girls testified to communication the other had with the men but did not include their own interaction with the men in their testimonies, Melton argued.
The alleged victim reported the acts to her sister in January, roughly two months after they had allegedly happened. The District Attorney”s office subsequently conducted an investigation and arrested Stasko April 3 on charges stemming from the events with help from the San Diego County Sheriff”s Department, while he was in San Diego.
It is unclear when the jury will finish deliberating.Isaac Brambila is an associate editor for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636 ext. 37 or at ibrambila@record-bee.com.
