Celebrity Attorney Representing Alleged Victim In Case Against Former Teacher
MODESTO (CBS13) - The teacher who left his family for a former student was back in court Tuesday facing sex crime charges against another former student.
James Hooker, 41, came face to face with the alleged victim as she described their first kiss at his mother's house and how the relationship progressed from there.
On day one we heard the alleged victim detail what she says happened 14 years ago - and she didn't arrive alone.
With famed attorney Gloria Allred by her side, the alleged victim walked into the Stanislaus County Courthouse to testify against the former Enochs High School teacher accused of sexual assault.
"She needed to know her rights and what her responsibilities were in the criminal justice system," Allred said. "That's why she consulted an attorney."
The woman, only referred to as Jane Doe, is now 31 but testified she was only 17 when ex-high school teacher Hooker performed oral sex on her. She says it happened inside his mother's home while his wife and child were living in Fresno.
She testified she met Hooker during a school trip out of state, wrestled with him alone in a hotel room and says later Hooker even kissed her inside a storage closet on campus at Davis High School.
The woman now lives in the Bay Area and says she decided to come forward after learning about Hooker's love affair with his former student, now 18-year-old Jordan Powers.
The teen didn't attend Tuesday hearing, but her mother did.
"She's fine," Tammie Powers said. "I do talk to her. (They're) still together."
A judge was expected to decide if there's enough evidence to send the case to trial, but Hooker's attorney filed a motion to question statute of limitations.
