Trial begins for Fresno lawyer accused of sex with boy. Her defense says she’s the victim
A Fresno family law attorney who is on trial this week for allegedly having sex with an underage boy may be a sexual assault victim herself, her lawyer said.
Jennifer Walters. 42, is facing 15 felony charges, including lewd or lascivious act with a minor, sodomy of a person under 18 years old and unlawful sexual intercourse. If convicted, she could be sent to prison for a maximum of 24 years.
Detectives said the alleged abuse took place over a four-year period and began in 2015 when the boy was 13.
Defense attorney Mark Broughton said during his opening statement Wednesday that Walters did nothing wrong and that she is the real victim.
He alleged the teenager forcibly raped and sodomized Walters inside of her law office on July 22, 2019. He was 17-years-old at the time was considered a close friend of the family, according to Broughton.
Broughton said the evidence will show that the teenager concocted the story of having a four-year clandestine relationship with Walters, including the dozens of times the teenager alleges they had sex in her home and office.
“He had a teenage boy crush on her,” he said.
Meanwhile, prosecutor Kaitlin Drake told jurors that Walters took advantage of the young teen, sexually assaulting him on numerous occasions.
Walters has known the alleged victim since he was 12-years-old, Drake said. Walters’s son played baseball with him and the two boys grew close. They would spend a lot of time together, including sleep overs at the Walters’s home.
It was during one of these sleepovers in 2015 when police said Walters allegedly initiated the sexual relationship with the teen, Drake said.
The alleged victim, who is now 20 years old, testified Thursday that he touched Walters’s behind while the two were alone on the couch in her home, watching television.
They were both wearing clothes and his hand remained on her for about five minutes, he said.
Drake asked if she told him to move his hand and he said no. “She didn’t seemed bothered by it because she didn’t tell me to move my hand,” he said.
The touching soon progressed eventually to sexual intercourse, Drake said.
When Walters and he kissed or had sexual contact it was almost always late at night after her two children had gone to bed, he testified.
The teen’s family later moved into the Walters’ northeast Fresno home in 2015. His family was having financial difficulties and she was going through a divorce.
At times while on the stand, the alleged victim spoke softly, and appeared to be somewhat reluctant as he explained to the jury what happened.
Drake asked him how old he was when Walters performed oral sex on him for the first time. He replied, “I was 13.”
The trial continues Monday at 9 a.m. in Judge Jeff Hamilton’s courtroom, Dept. 54.
