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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 16, 2005 Rape case handed to jurors By PARIS ACHEN Mail Tribune A jury will begin deliberating today whether to convict Christopher Richard Valdez of raping a 15-year-old girl last March at a transient camp on the Bear Creek Greenway. Prosecutors said Valdez, 34, of Phoenix, and two other unidentified men kidnapped, raped and sodomized the girl March 4 inside a tent on the bike path near the Rogue Valley Mall. Michael Stedman, Valdez’s publicly appointed defense attorney, contended sex between his client and the teenager was consensual. The rape case has garnered intense media attention and prompted a swift city and community effort last spring to remove masses of blackberry bushes sheltering transient campsites along the Greenway, a popular recreational path between Central Point and Ashland. Valdez has pleaded not guilty to the charges of rape, kidnapping and assault. Advertisement The 12-member jury heard testimony Thursday in Jackson County Circuit Court from the victim, the victim’s friend, a detective, two crime lab experts, two doctors, a nurse, and Valdez’s acquaintance. Valdez chose not to testify. The victim took the stand for more than an hour, recounting events before, during and after the rapes. Speaking in a soft voice that barely carried through the court room, the victim testified she was headed to her school, CrossRoads, when Valdez approached her on a bike. "He asked me if I saw any cops around, and I said, ‘No,’" she said. Two other men jumped out of the blackberry bushes, she said. One struck her in the temple, knocking her to the ground, she said. The trio then dragged her through the briars into a tent owned by an acquaintance of Valdez, according to the alleged victim. Inside the tent, the men injected her with an unknown liquid, she said. She testified Valdez raped her first followed by the two other men, who also sodomized her. She said she identified Valdez by the two tattoos on his chest. The other two men alleged to be involved have never been identified. She said she resisted the men at first by hitting and kicking, pleaded with them to use condoms, and finally gave up as the unknown drug set in. After the rapes, she went to a bathroom in the Rogue Valley Mall to clean blood off her face, she said. She then walked and hitch-hiked to Rogue River, where she stayed with a friend. The next day, her mother picked her up and took her to Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass. An emergency room doctor at the hospital testified the victim sustained minor injuries to her genitalia from the rape, but no drugs were detected in her system. A DNA analyst with the Oregon State Police testified a rape kit conducted on the victim at the hospital yielded semen samples, which matched Valdez’s DNA. In closing arguments Thursday, Stedman conceded that his client is guilty of having sex with a minor. However, he said minor inconsistencies in the victim’s statements, such as the lack of severe injuries to correspond with her description of being beaten in the face and differing dates for when she said her period ended in the days before the attack. He also pointed out that no marks or scratches were found on Valdez and the lack of DNA from the other two men presents reasonable doubt about the defendant’s guilt. Prosecutor Matt Chancellor said the evidence in the case shows the victim was raped. He showed the jury the torn T-shirt and bloody panties the victim wore on the day of the rapes. He said her description of the rapes have been consistent for the past nine months on three different occasions: an audiotape interview, a videotaped interview and Thursday’s testimony. "She has not lied to you," he told the jury. If convicted of the charges, Valdez faces a mandatory sentence of eight years and three months. Reach reporter Paris Achen at 776-4459 or e-mail Rape case handed to jurors ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Advertisement s