Friday, June 14, 2002 | 9:57 a.m.
A Clark County jury found a former Las Vegas resident guilty of sexually assaulting his 13-year-old stepdaughter Thursday despite her claims she was a virgin when she gave birth to his son.
The 31-year-old man will receive a 20-year to life sentence on July 23, but it will be up to District Judge Michael Douglas to decide whether he should receive probation or a 10-year to life sentence on a second charge of lewdness with a minor under 14.
Douglas will also have to decide if the second sentence should run at the same time or consecutively.
The Sun is not publishing the name of the defendant to protect the identify of the victim, who is now a 16-year-old high school dropout who is raising her 2-year-old son with her mother, the defendant's wife.
According to court testimony, Child Protective Services began investigating the paternity of the girl's child when someone called the state to report that her stepfather had fathered the child.
The girl told police, CPS workers and her mother that a boy named Julio was her son's father and despite DNA tests identifying her stepfather as the father, she stuck with that story on the stand earlier this week.
The girl, however, also testified that while on a trip to Tijuana, Mexico, she had initiated some sexual contact with her stepfather. She said they stopped short of intercourse.
Deputy Public Defender Christy Craig told jurors they could not find her client guilty of sexual assault because there was no proof the girl was raped or that a sexual assault took place in Clark County.
In addition to being asked if a sexual assault and a lewd act occurred, the jury was also asked if, by a preponderance of the evidence, the sexual assault took place in Clark County.
The jury answered yes to all three questions. Had they found that a sexual assault took place in Tijuana, the man's conviction could have been overturned by the judge.
Deputy District Attorney Lisa Luzaich said the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that jurisdiction is not an element of the crime, nor does a jury have to find a crime occurred within a certain jurisdiction "beyond a reasonable doubt."
"I'm thrilled," Luzaich said of the verdict. "Justice was served."
The case was especially troubling, Luzaich said because "whether the victim believes it or not she is the ultimate victim. She was given a baby by her stepfather, who abused her trust and his authority and she doesn't even realize it."
The girl and her mother, who were forced to testify by the state, were not present for the verdict.
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