Closing arguments held in Yuma child abuse case
Eduardo Morales
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Closing arguments were heard Wednesday evening in the trial of 48-year-old Randall Medders.
Medders is facing five counts of child molestation, five counts of child abuse, and ten counts of aggravated assault with sexual motivation.
In court, both the prosecution and the defense made their closing arguments to the jury.
The prosecuting attorney, Marissa Zhu, explained how the alleged abuse affected the victim.
“She didn’t want to sleep in her bedroom anymore, because of all the furniture, her bed, her door, the painted sky on her wall, all reminded her of the abuse,” says Zhu.
Meanwhile, the defense attorney, Richard Parks, argued it could be a misunderstanding.
“She can have convinced herself that this is exactly what happened and Randall did all this to abuse her…the state presented no evidence that he actually had such motivation,” said Parks.
Zhu later explained why the victim spoke up about the abuse later on.
“Delay is common for children of sexual abuse, the timing of disclosure doesn’t tell us about whether the allegation is credible,” she says.
The defense has one final message for the jury.
“If you have made up your mind, guilty, not guilty, you have no duty to change that,” Parks said.
The trial is now in the hands of the jury, as they started deliberating Wednesday afternoon.