Closing Arguments Presented In Saugus Snapchat Rape Trial
SALEM (CBS) -- Consent was the focus of the closing arguments presented Monday in the so-called SnapChat rape trial at Salem Superior Court.
Rashad Deihim, now 21, and his co-defendant Kailyn Bonia, known as "KK," now 20, were teenagers when prosecutors say they raped a drunk and drugged 16-year-old girl in the woods outside a Saugus elementary school in September 2014 and recorded it for their followers to see on SnapChat.
Deihim and Bonia's attorneys said the sexual activity was consensual, but prosecutors claim the girl was so drunk she could barely speak, making it impossible for her to give consent.
At times during the defense's closing arguments, the accuser gasped and breathed heavily and had to be consoled by friends and family.
Both defense attorneys said Monday the alleged victim recanted her story several times to protect Deihim and Bonia, and did so because they were friends.
When James Caramanicia, Bonia's attorney, said the alleged victim was with other people she trusted the accuser interjected.
He claimed that Bonia and the victim engaged in consensual activity, and any "no" comments heard in the SnapChat video were in objection to being taped.
"Nothing illegal happened out there," Caramanicia told the court.
Attorney Stephen Neyman, representing Deihim, suggested the alleged victim had not actually been assaulted by Deihim, but was simply embarrassed by the images that went out on SnapChat.
"What KK Bonia and my client did was not criminal," Neyman said.
During a dramatic closing by the prosecution, the mother of the alleged victim became emotional and had to leave the courtroom.
Assistant District Attorney Kate McDougall said the girl was intoxicated at the time. The alleged victim testified last week that she had a large bottle of vodka in her purse that night, and had taken drugs earlier in the day.
"She was in a very, very bad place," said the Assistant District Attorney, who reminded the court that EMTs tending to the alleged victim said she could not sit up, stand, or remember her own name.
Last Thursday, the alleged victim testified, telling the court she remembered waking up nude and confused.
"I remember saying, like, 'stop taking pictures of me,' like I was naked and I was getting flashes. I remember saying like 'stop, I don't understand what's going on,'" she told the court.'
McDougall described Deihim and Bonia as "so-called friends who violated her and humiliated her literally for their own entertainment," and said the alleged victim was "not capable of consenting to anything."
On Wednesday, teenager Syndee Enos told the court that she saw the images of the alleged assault on SnapChat, and said Deihim and Bonia were holding the alleged victim down "almost in a headlock." McDougall referenced these images in her closing.
"If this is so consensual, ladies and gentlemen, why does KK Bonia have her in a headlock?" McDougall asked the court.
Deihim and Bonia are also charged with kidnapping.
The teenager who took the video, Tim Cyckowski, already pleaded guilty. His father also pleaded guilty to misleading police.
Deliberations were cut short on Monday after a thunderstorm caused a power outage in the courthouse. The jury will reconvene on Tuesday.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karyn Regal reports
