Cain Velasquez court case proceeds as his 5-year-old son testifies against alleged offender
While he is currently out on bail, Cain Velasquez was recently back in court as his 5-year-old son testified in the Harry Goularte molestation case.
Goularte, 44, has been accused of sexually assaulting Velasquez's son Cain Jr. at a daycare facility when he was four years old. Meanwhile, the former UFC fighter faces charges including attempted murder after shooting at Goularte's vehicle in a dramatic chase last February.
Cain Jr. testified in a preliminary hearing on Monday and took the stand in front of a room filled with Goularte's family. While Velasquez's wife also took the stand, the former UFC champ wasn't allowed to testify.
The child in Harry Goularte child molestation case took the stand in preliminary hearing today.
@MMAFighting star @cainmma is charged with premeditated attempted murder in alleged shooting of Goularte and family.
The child told the court that Goularte touched his “privates” https://t.co/P4mHYsy6km
Prosecutors did their best to protect Cain Velasquez's son, even setting up a box so that he would not have to face his alleged offender, who sat 25 feet away. The child was also allowed to color in a Pokemon coloring book while on the stand as Deputy District Attorney Robert Philbrook tried to get binary answers out of him.
Cain Jr. eventually, with the help of a sketch of a stick figure drawn by Philbrook, said that Goularte used his hand to touch him in his private area in a bathroom at the aforementioned daycare center. Upon cross-examination, the defendant's attorney, Steve Defilippis, claimed that the child's testimony was coached and inconsistent.
Harry Goularte will go to trial on charges of molesting Cain Velasquez's son
Monday's preliminary hearing was the first time that Cain Velasquez's son publicly implicated Harry Goularte, who pleaded not guilty last June.
After a full day of hearings at the Santa Clara County (Calif.) court that included the testimony of Goularte's mother, Patricia Bender, Judge Javier Alcala decided that the accused should go to trial. Goularte is due back in court for his trial on March 13.
After preliminary hearing, judge orders Harry Goularte to stand trial. He’s accused of molesting a close family member of @MMAFighting star @cainmma
#mma https://t.co/6UZB7CtlQp
Cain Velasquez's wife, Michelle Velasquez, testified about the night that her son told her and Cain Sr. about Goularte’s alleged molestation. Mrs. Velasquez also said that her son told her that he saw Goularte go to the bathroom with two other boys from the daycare.
Meanwhile, Goularte's mother, who was running the daycare in question, testified that her son would sometimes visit the facility when the children were around, but he did not work there in any official capacity.
Goularte sat just feet away from the child and from the Velasquez family in court today.
Cain Velasquez’s wife is on the stand in this photo
#mma
@cainmma https://t.co/tBjEuA2MzQ