Oakland Jury Convicts Man Of Sex Crimes Against Two Minors
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A 33-year-old man has been convicted of sexually assaulting both a
minor boy and a minor girl, prosecutors said Tuesday.
An Alameda County Superior Court jury announced its verdict against Lazaro Guzman on Friday after deliberating for two days. He faces a lengthy state prison term when he's sentenced by Judge Rhonda Burgess on Dec. 16.
Jurors convicted Guzman of one count of aggravated sexual assault and six counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under the age of 14 for his involvement with the boy, who was only identified in court papers as John Doe.
Jurors also convicted him of one count of continuous sexual abuse and three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under the age of 14 for his involvement with the girl, who was identified as Jane Doe.
Guzman's lawyer, Christina Moore, told jurors in her closing argument last week that they should have "reasonable doubt" about the female victim's testimony because she believes it contained many discrepancies and inconsistencies.
Moore alleged that the female, who is now an adult, "is a sophisticated witness" who changed the timeline of her relationship with Guzman.
Moore said that at one point the female testified that her relationship with Guzman began in 2005 but when she realized that timeline didn't work she changed her story to say that their relationship actually started in 2004.
Moore said, "There are many reasons to doubt the evidence" and asked jurors to find Guzman not guilty of all the charges against him.
But prosecutor Amanda Chavez told jurors that there was sufficient evidence to convict Guzman and jurors agreed.
© Copyright 2016 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.