Jury Acquits Plantation Man Accused Of Fondling Pre-Teen Sisters
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami.com) – A Plantation man accused of fondling two pre-teen sisters from Boca Raton at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach has been found not guilty on all counts.
The jury came back with the verdict on the four counts just after 6 p.m. Tuesday. It is the second time he has been acquitted on similar charges A ten-year-old Boca Raton girl accused him of rubbing her between her legs as she boarded a boat at Quiet Waters Park in July 2009.
Hipscher's defense lawyers told the jury he was only helping her back onto the boat. He was found not guilty by the jury in less than two hours.
Hipscher's mother told CBS4's Carey Codd she knew her son was innocent.
"He was proven innocent last time and I knew he was innocent this time and God willing, we'll be having Thanksgiving together," said Karen Hipscher.
Earlier Tuesday, the brother of the sisters took the stand against 39-year old Corey Hipscher. The girls claim he inappropriately touched them when they climbed into a paddle boat at the park in July 2009.
The girls' brother testified that he saw Hipscher touch the girls between their legs as they got into the boat, but thought nothing of it at the time. During cross examination, defense attorney Paul Molle asked him about what he said about the incident when he was questioned during his deposition.
"(When asked if) He didn't touch her in a bad way, you said 'No, I just felt he grabbed her around the private parts, do you remember that," asked Molle.
"Yes," the brother replied.
On Monday one of the sisters, who is now 9-years old, took the stand
"When you got back in the boat, what did he do," prosecutors asked.
"He touched me in my legs," the nine-year-old said.
The alleged victim even demonstrated what happened using a doll.
Defense attorneys used the same doll to say she could have misread what was actually going on.
"So his hand was on your thigh like this and when you got in the boat, he's helping you," Molle asked the victim.
Hipscher's defense lawyers, Paul Molle and Michael Hursey, said the girls misinterpreted the incident.
"There was no spoken words, no threats, don't tell your parents," Hursey said Monday.
In an unrelated case, Hipscher was convicted of sexual battery in 2003 on an adult female who was his girlfriend at the time.
It's because of that conviction that Hipscher still faces one more legal hurdle.
Prosecutors will argue to a judge that these molestation allegations constitute a probation violation.
Hipscher could face 15 years in prison if the judge agrees with the state. Hipscher's attorneys promise to vigorously defend him.
