LOS ANGELES — Jury deliberations could begin today in the case of 52-year-old Glendale man, who is accused of sexually molesting his two nieces.
Judge Anne Egerton read instructions to jurors Thursday afternoon in court in the trial of Donald Allen, who faces 12 felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14.
Two additional counts alleging two incidents of molestation of Allen’s 14-year-old niece were amended onto his charges, increasing the 10 counts against him.
Egerton explained to jurors that only the witnesses’ answers during testimony should be weighed as evidence, not the attorneys’ questions to witnesses and their opening and closing arguments.
"You must decide what the facts are in this case," she told jurors. "You alone must judge the credibility of the witness."
Egerton asked jurors to consider five factors in determining whether the facts were proven by preponderance of evidence, which means the fact is more likely than not true.
Three factors, she said, had been proven as fact, including that the victims’ made a report of the charges at the Glendale Police Department when they were under 18, the prosecution filed the charges within one year of the report and that the charges were filed more than the six-year statute for the allegations.
The jurors must prove whether substantial sexual conduct, such as oral copulation occurred and there was sufficient independent evidence to prove that conduct happened, Egerton said.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Philip Wojdak and Allen’s attorney Dana Cole explained their cases to jurors during their closing arguments.
"There are really two options in this case: either those things happened or they didn’t," Wojdak told jurors. "Either they were sexually assaulted or they sat and watched TV there."
Allen’s 14-year-old and 16-year-old nieces, who are sisters, testified this week that he had performed sexual acts on them and that they did the same to him.
The younger sister testified he had molested her since she was 5 and the older sister said he had sexual abused her since she was 7.
The older sister alleged that she was sexually abused twice in the projection room at Glendale Adventist Medical Hospital when Allen was volunteering there for volleyball events, she testified.
The younger sister testified that she experienced nightmares from being molested.
Both testified that Allen showed them pornography on his computer.
