The jury discovered Hector Ruiz, 26, now not in charge of sexually assaulting one of the ladies. However, they may now not achieve a unanimous choice in regards to the price that he raped every other lady all through a traffic prevent 3 months later, leading to a impasse.
“We’re very grateful for this jury’s thoughtful time and consideration of these serious accusations,” stated Nicole DeBorde, one of Ruiz’s protection lawyers. “They have cleared Mr. Ruiz’s name in connection with the charge involving sexual abuse and civil rights abuses.”
DeBorde additionally discussed that she and co-counsel Javier Martinez plan to report further motions to combat the obstruction of proof price. Meanwhile, the Justice Department discussed that they admire the jury’s choice and stay up for retrying the defendant on rely one, regarding the allegations of a 2nd sexual attack.
During the two-week trial, each girls concerned testified and spoke back more than a few questions in regards to the attacks. They recounted the main points of the attacks whilst the prosecution performed video pictures of the traffic stops and audio of interviews with the police, in addition to recorded conversations with one of the ladies’s spouse who used to be in prison.
The allegation that the jury acquitted Ruiz of used to be that he had raped a girl after a traffic prevent on August 11, 2019. The lady testified that she had pondered suicide two times after Ruiz attacked her in a bed room when he drove her house from the prevent. Meanwhile, a 26-year-old Pasadena lady’s allegations resulted in a impasse. She testified that she were in “panic survival mode” when Ruiz stopped her on November 16, 2019. She stated that he made her observe him in her automotive to a depressing subdivision in Fort Bend County the place he raped her.
Ruiz’s lawyers puzzled the main points of the ladies’s accounts, together with the traffic stops and what took place after them. While Ruiz had in the past admitted to investigators that he had had consensual intercourse with each girls, his attorneys also known as persona and professional witnesses in his protection. “We’re going to continue fighting these other allegations against the first accuser,” stated Martinez, every other one of Ruiz’s lawyers.
Ruiz will stay in federal custody till his sentencing.
