Mar 31, 2015

Humboldt's first alleged female abuser with first female underage victim? Charges include abnormal sexual interest in children

I don't know if both families are from Hoopa but the defendant, Kayla Brown and her family are from Hoopa. Yesterday, in Courtroom 1, Kayla Brown stood silently as her attorney, Jeffrey Schwartz addressed Judge John Feeney. DDA Brie Bennett represented the People. DA Investigator Kyla Baxley was in court, she is usually the investigator for  cases involving allegations of sexual abuse or sexual misconduct.

Kayla Brown is charged with four counts. Count 1 Abnormal Sexual Interest in Children and arranging a meeting for that purpose PC 288.4 (b); Count 2 Sexual penetration with a foreign object; [289.(i)  any person over the age of 21 years who participates in an act of sexual penetration with another person who is under 16 years of age shall be guilty of a felony]; Count 3 288.3 (a) [288.3.  (a) Every person who contacts or communicates with a minor, or attempts to contact or communicate with a minor, who knows or reasonably should know that the person is a minor, with intent to commit an offense specified in Section 207, 209, 261, 264.1, 273a, 286, 288, 288a, 288.2, 289, 311.1, 311.2, 311.4 or 311.11 involving the minor shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for the term prescribed for an attempt to commit the intended offense] and Count 4 PC 647.6 (a) which is child molestation/annoying a child.

The alleged victim is under 16 years of age. Kayla Brown was cuffed and taken into custody in court, she was on calendar for a warrant surrender. She was served with a criminal protective order in court.

Judge John Feeney denied Mr. Schwartz's request which was not to have Brown taken into custody. The reason she missed court last time, according to Mr. Schwartz was because she was in Sacramento for medical treatment. Mr. Schwartz said she has pulmonary and lung issues that require her to wear a medical device. He argued that she was not in Hoopa but staying in Redding and that the "jail could not handle her medical issues" A warrant had been issued by Visiting Judge Charles Irvin. I was in court that day when that warrant was issued.

DDA Brie Bennett argued for "remand due to public safety of the community" and for the protection of the victim.

Brown's bail had been set to $185,000 according to the bail schedule and crimes charged. Mr. Schwartz argued that it was not accurate based on Count 2. Judge Feeney reduced the bail to $150,000.

While the case was being heard, the families sat on opposite sides of the courtroom. Victim Witness escorted the victim's family, which outnumbered the defendant's family in court. They glared at  Brown and her mother in court.

While this is not the first Humboldt case with an alleged female abuser, it is the first case that I know of where the alleged abuse was by a female and the alleged victim is also female and underage.

There is an OR/Bail hearing in Courtroom 1 on April 1 at 2 p.m., an intervention hearing on April 8 at 3 p.m. and a preliminary hearing on April 13 at 8:30 a.m., courtroom to be determined.


3 comments:

  1. Not the first I know of..... You will need to look back in times standard 5 years. Sadly Some older women 21+ often prey on highschool boys. This woman finally lost her Ms Hoopa crown and seat on the tribal youth council finally!

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  2. There was an Arcata soccer coach (female HSU student) who groomed and took advantage of a vulnerable fourteen year old girl. The victim came forward at age 19 as the perp was hired as a PE teacher at a middle school in Mendo (a candy store for those with underage preferences) The media downplayed it as same gender molesting is viewed as less harmful by certain parts of the community. And thank you, John, for staying on the case, despite being harassed...

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  3. There was a female soccer coach (HSU student) who groomed and exploited a girl from ages 12 to 14. The victim came forward after the perp was hired as a PE teacher at a middle school in Mendo. If I remember right (I may be wrong) the victim had minimal support from her own family (of the two mommies variety) as they did not want to upset "community cohesion". If I'm wrong on this, I apologize, the media kept the coverage on the downlow. And thank you, John, for staying on this case (and others) despite harassment and attempts at intimidation.

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