A pair of witnesses in the child sexual assault trial of former Vacaville lawyer James Glenn Haskell described seeing the defendant settle a hand on his oldest adopted daughter’s buttocks at a wedding, with one saying the same behavior occurred “more than once” at his home.
A witness for the prosecution on Wednesday, the trial’s eighth day, Holly Wonnacott, who knew Haskell and wife Emily through attendance at a Vacaville Mormon Church, said she saw Haskell with his hand on the girl’s “rear end” for an estimated 10 to 15 minutes at the wedding of a friend. (The Reporter typically does not identify victims of sexual assaults or abuse.)
“It seemed like a very long time,” Wonnacott told Deputy District Attorney Shelly Moore, who leads the prosecution in Department 25 of Solano County Superior Court.
“It seemed like a weird dynamic was going on,” added Wonnacott.
Upon cross-examination by Haskell’s defense attorney, Thomas Maas, Wonnacott also said the defendant’s hand shifted “a little” on the girl’s buttocks.
The other prosecution witness, Desire Dominique, said toward the end of her testimony before a recess during the afternoon session that she thought Haskell’s behavior in those moments at the wedding was “unusual.”
Also a member of the Mormon Church, she testified that she saw the same behavior during “frequent dinners” at the Haskell’s second home in Vacaville.
And, responding to other questions Moore posed, Dominique said she saw the oldest of three daughters sit on Haskell’s lap from time to time during visits to the family’s home.
“Were Emily and the defendant affectionate?” asked Moore.
“No,” Dominique said firmly.
Haskell faces 16 counts, felonies and misdemeanors, alleged crimes that occurred between October 2018 and up until early February 2022, according to court documents and testimony. The children eventually were removed the Haskell home. Additionally, allegations filed later in the case included four felony sexual assaults.
Seated at the defense table, Haskell — sporting a dark brown beard and wearing a light blue shirt under a marine blue sweater over rumpled green trousers — again could be seen constantly taking notes during the testimony, as he did on Monday and Tuesday.
Some of the afternoon’s most surprising testimony came when Moore asked her about alleged abuse of some of the other adopted Haskell children.
Dominique said she was at a children’s pinata party and when the pinata burst, the candy tumbled out, and Haskell’s young son began picking up some of the candy when he “hit his son on the head with his fist.”
Maas objected and asked Judge Janice M. Williams, who is presiding over the trial, to discuss “permissible” witness testimony.
Out of the presence of the jury, he believed that Moore was getting her witnesses to testify about information not related to the charges, describing some witness statements as allusions to “uncharged conduct.”
He cited Evidence Code sections 1108 and 1109, which permit the introduction of evidence of prior acts to show an inclination, or a tendency, where defendants are charged with sexual offenses, domestic violence, adult or dependent abuse, and child abuse.
However, Maas asserted that such testimony, unrelated to prior agreed-upon courtroom procedures, was “getting to the point that it’s violating my client’s constitutional rights.” He said the statements violated Section 402 of the Evidence Code, that is, hearings for preliminary fact-findings to decide the admissibility of evidence.
But Moore said her lines of inquiry in those moments were prompted because the defense was portraying Haskell “as a reasonable disciplinarian.”
With the jury called back into the courtroom, Dominique said she was aware that two of Haskell’s children, the second-oldest daughter and son, were forced to sleep in the bathroom “as a form of punishment” for bed-wetting.
Additionally, she once saw Haskell “drag” his son by the ear “because he dropped something” and also, on another occasion, pull the boy by the hair. The second-oldest daughter and son “were always facing punishments of some sort,” she said.
At one point, Dominique referred to a “really nasty” abrasion on the second-oldest daughter’s elbow, characterizing it as “like a nasty scab.” Moore then showed her a photo of the girl’s elbow, an injury that occurred when Haskell allegedly pushed her onto a driveway.
She also said she had a conversation with Haskell after the children were removed from the Haskell’s’ home, a meeting that occurred in his law office at the Reynolds Law firm in Vacaville.
The conversation focused on the oldest daughter who was about to turn 18 and would be no longer subject to the state’s foster program if she chose to strike out on her own.
Haskell, said Dominique was jealous that that daughter was spending time with her boyfriend and also said Haskell told her that he and the oldest daughter did not have a “traditional father-daughter relationship.”
She also met with the oldest daughter later at a local restaurant. The girl then disclosed some of the sexual assault allegations.
“Were you shocked by this information?” asked Moore.
“Yeah,” Dominique said slowly in a somewhat whisper-like tone. She also said that she told the girl, “We have to tell someone.”
That someone was a social worker who then called the police.
Afterward, Dominique said she participated in a “pretext call” with Haskell. Such calls are a tape-recorded call between two people, usually between a victim of a crime and the suspect of that crime, done under the supervision of law enforcement.
During the midafternoon, Moore and a Sheriff detective prepared the recording to be heard by the jury.
If convicted, Haskell faces two life prison terms and will be required to register as a sex offender.
The trial resumes at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the Justice Center in Fairfield and is expected to last at least another week.