Witness alleges frequent groping

Andrew Edwards

The trial of a Corona del Mar woman accused of molesting a teenage

girl continued Monday, with graphic testimony from the alleged

victim.

The girl, now 17, testified that 41-year-old Victoria Hawlish

groped her on multiple occasions. However, when cross-examined by

defense attorney Albert DeBlanc Jr., she was unable to pinpoint the

times when the alleged abuse took place.

The girl’s older sister also testified that Hawlish touched her

inappropriately eight years ago. The alleged victim’s family and

Hawlish lived in Burbank at the time.

To protect their identities, the Daily Pilot does not publish the

names of alleged sexual assault victims.

The 17-year-old testified that while living at Hawlish’s residence

between June and October of 2003, Hawlish would frequently grab her

breasts and buttocks. Though the girl told prosecutor Jana Hoffman

that she was “grossed out” by the alleged contacts, she did not try

to resist Hawlish.

“What can I do?” she said.

The girl often read transcripts of previous interviews with police

and the county’s Child Abuse Services Team to jog her memory during

her testimony. She said Hawlish touched her about 40 times, adding

other graphic details.

Hawlish The girl also said that Hawlish gave her a sex toy.

The girl said other abuse would occur when Hawlish would enter the

shower with her. During cross-examination, she could not specify when

that occurred.

DeBlanc asked why the alleged victim waited until October to

contact her family about the allegations, even though Hawlish’s

husband had provided her with a cellphone. The girl said she only

used a cellphone once to call her mother and could not call her

family from the Hawlish home while alone.

When asked by DeBlanc, the girl denied that Hawlish and her

husband told her to leave their home before telling her family that

she had been molested.

The alleged victim’s 22-year-old sister testified that Hawlish

touched her eight years ago but that she did not tell anyone until

police began investigating her sister’s allegations. She said that

Hawlish told her she was a stripper and that about 75% of their

conversations included sexual topics.

At the time, the sister said, she was naive and troubled by her

father’s death.

“I was never taught about this, so I did not think anything of

this,” the sister said.

Judge Carla Singer told the jury they could consider the sister’s

testimony as evidence that Hawlish may have a predisposition to

commit sexual offenses, though any predisposition would not prove

Hawlish’s guilt.

The trial is scheduled to continue today.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards

@latimes.com.