SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After a civil trial spanning nine weeks and involving ten defendants, the jury reached a verdict against the plaintiff in the closely watched De Anza College Rape Case. Barbara Spector, heading the legal team of Daniel Ballesteros, Monica Burneikis and Crystal Riggins of Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel, issued a statement today on behalf of their client, Jane Doe:
“Ms. Doe wishes to express her gratitude for the time and dedication the jury devoted to her case.
The jury was told about a seventeen-year-old who was served shots of alcohol at a party and became highly intoxicated. At that point, members of the De Anza College Baseball Team made a choice: instead of keeping the young woman out of harm’s way, they confined her in a small bedroom and engaged in group sexual activity.
When three De Anza College soccer players, Lauren Bryeans, Lauren Chief-Elk and April Grolle, rescued the teenager by breaking into the room, they found her with vomit on her face, partially clothed, and in a semi-comatose state requiring hospitalization. The baseball team members then made another choice: they walked out of the bedroom and did nothing to assist.
In telling her story, Jane Doe wishes to focus attention on these choices, and encourage the example set by the soccer players of caring for, rather than exploiting, one another.”
Spector added that earlier in the trial, the client received significant settlements from a number of the defendants. At that point, Jane Doe could have walked away without being subjected to the onslaught of personal accusations she knew would be coming. Instead she took the stand and told her story. “She is the bravest young woman we know,” said Spector.
About Hoge Fenton
Founded in 1952, Hoge Fenton has a legacy of outstanding trial and appellate advocacy in all areas of law, with many of its alumni now serving on the bench in state and federal courts. Today the firm is a single source of legal service to businesses and individuals in the areas of business formation and transactions, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy, intellectual property, real estate and land use, labor and employment law, estate planning and wealth management, complex family law matters, catastrophic personal injury, and pretrial, trial, and appellate representation in all areas of law.
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