August 22, 2009 – By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer

WAILUKU – A man was acquitted of a charge alleging that he sexually touched a disabled client while working at the Easter Seals Society of Hawaii four years ago.

A 2nd Circuit Court jury deliberated for about an hour and a half before returning the not-guilty verdict Wednesday afternoon for George Gonzalez. He had been charged with third-degree sexual assault of the woman on Dec. 6, 2005, while she attended the program at the Cameron Center in Wailuku. It was the second time in two months that a jury had found the 65-year-old retired Kula resident not guilty of third-degree sexual assault.

After a trial in June, Gonzalez was acquitted of two counts of third-degree sexual assault of another female client in May 2005 while he worked as a therapeutic aide at ARC of Maui in Wailuku.

“We’re very pleased that he had the opportunity to clear his name and he’s been exonerated from all charges,” said Wailuku attorney David Sereno, who represented Gonzalez in both trials. “We’re hoping he can now move on with his life. We’re very grateful to the jury for examining the evidence and realizing he is, in fact, not guilty.”

During the trial this week, Easter Seals employee Andrea Fukushima testified that she was looking for a client to help her with snack preparation at about 9 a.m. Fukushima said she found the client in the library in front of a computer and saw Gonzalez removing his right hand from under the shirt of the client, who was wearing a sports bra under her shirt. “I don’t know if it (his hand) was in her sports bra, but I know it was definitely in her shirt,” Fukushima said.

When she called for the client to leave the room, Fukushima said she noticed that the woman’s shirt was open and lopsided.

Testifying in his defense, Gonzalez said he was leaning over to the client to help her as she worked on a word puzzle on the computer. He said his only physical contact with the woman was when he gave her a high-five.
In closing arguments to jurors Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Michael Parrish said the 27-year-old woman was developmentally disabled and couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

“The defendant took advantage of a person who was clearly disabled,” Parrish said. “Moreover, the defendant violated her while he was in a position of trust, a position of caring for developmentally disabled persons.”
In his closing arguments, Sereno said Gonzalez helped the woman because her teacher wasn’t around. At the time, Gonzalez also was helping a male client who was in the bathroom.

People were roaming the hallways outside the library, which has a glass wall, Sereno said. “If somebody was going to do it, would they do it there?” he asked.

Sereno said Fukushima may believe what she testified to, but “we know she’s mistaken.”
Judge Joseph Cardoza presided over the trial that began Monday.