Defense attorney attacks girl's truthfulness

Published: Wednesday, June 3, 2009 6:16 p.m. MDT
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A defense attorney for Jose Bernardo Fanjul, the West High School teacher accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student, went on the attack Wednesday, shouting at the girl about her credibility.

Under questioning from attorney Kenneth Brown, the girl repeatedly said, "I can't recall," when previous statements she made were inconsistent with what she testified to Tuesday and Wednesday, and when she could not recall what happened on specific dates.

"These dates seem wrong to me," the girl said at one point.

Brown loudly questioned that comment.

"Or is this because when you become so accustomed to lying … it becomes very, very difficult to tell the truth?" Brown asked.

The girl testified Tuesday that she had given Fanjul a black lacy thong at school in a manila envelope.

"You made up the whole story about giving the panties in an envelope?" Brown said.

The girl said no.

"Complete fabrication!" Brown stated at another point, when a dated electronic communication did not line up with what the girl said had occurred. "Could it be it never happened?"

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Brown also expressed doubt about the girl's account of sexual activity in Fanjul's car following a school dance she attended and he chaperoned. Brown asked if the car's stick shift would get in the way of the alleged activity, while the girl responded she didn't recall it being a barrier.

"Maybe the reason is you were never in the car?" Brown said.

"No," the girl said, insisting she was there and describing a phone call Fanjul made to his wife telling her he would be late. Phone records show a call from his phone to home at 12:24 a.m. that day.

Brown spent much of Wednesday morning trying to establish a timeline of what occurred when, according to the girl, and he pushed hard when inconsistencies emerged. The girl was composed the entire morning, except once when she began to weep as Brown questioned her about dates and times.

In one situation, the girl testified that she and Fanjul had engaged in some kind of sexual activity almost daily and had been involved in 30 episodes of inappropriate touching or kissing in a West High elevator. But Brown said the school calendar and the girl's attendance at that time did not include enough days for daily elevator liaisons.

"If it happened 30 times, you weren't even there 30 times," Brown said.

"I believe it happened more than once a day," the girl replied.

Fanjul, 46, is charged with five counts of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony, and five counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. He "adamantly" denies any wrongdoing, his lawyers say.

Recent comments

that is so sad on ow the attorney was harassing the girl but then...

Janae | June 18, 2009 at 11:00 a.m.

Apparently, a girl 16 beguiled a male teacher who had no control over...

Sad Times | June 4, 2009 at 5:29 p.m.

I completely disagree JAYEG. The 16-yr old girl is making 'big-girl'...

Re: JAYEG | June 4, 2009 at 4:18 p.m.

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