Jury hears final arguments in sex-abuse trial
Marisa O’Neil
A Corona del Mar woman accused of sexually molesting a teenage girl
blurred the line of sexually appropriate behavior with adults and
children, a prosecutor said during closing arguments Monday.
Prosecutor Jana Hoffmann described Victoria Hawlish, 41, as an
“openly sexual” woman who wanted approval from the alleged victim,
who was 15 at the time, and her school friends. Hawlish is accused of
inappropriately touching the girl on numerous occasions in 2003 while
the 15-year-old lived in the Corona del Mar home shared by Hawlish
and her husband.
“The defendant can live her life as sexually explicitly as she
wants to,” Hoffmann told jurors. “But when she crosses the line and
actually touches a child, the law does not allow that.”
The Daily Pilot does not name victims or alleged victims of sexual
assault.
Defense attorney Albert DeBlanc Jr. told jurors that the
accusations were nothing more than the girl’s word against Hawlish’s
-- a case of “she said, she said.”
Hawlish befriended the girl and her family when she lived in Los
Angeles county, DeBlanc said. Hawlish was struggling to make ends
meet as a stripper and felt an affinity with the troubled girl, he
said.
The girl later came to live with Hawlish and her new husband in
their Corona del Mar home, DeBlanc said.
The accusations came about when Hawlish’s husband, Jeff Hawlish,
asked the girl to move out of their home, DeBlanc said.
“She’s mad at Victoria Hawlish,” DeBlanc said. “She wanted to live
there in Corona del Mar.”
But the girl wanted to move out of the home because of ongoing
abuse, Hoffmann said. Victoria Hawlish had a continuing pattern of
inappropriate sexual behavior with the alleged victim, her friends
and her older sister, Hoffmann said.
“Adults and children blur in her mind,” Hoffmann told jurors. “She
doesn’t care that the victim is under 18. She is going to impose her
sexuality on this child.”
Victoria Hawlish is charged with five counts of performing lewd
acts upon a minor. Those stem from allegations about groping the
girl, forcing the girl to touch her, showering with the girl and
forcing the girl to play with sex toys.
If convicted, Hawlish could face up to 16 years in prison. But she
could also get probation, Hoffmann said.
The jury began deliberations at the end of the day Monday and is
expected to resume deliberations this morning.
* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be
reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil @latimes.com.
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