SIXTH UPDATE: Karate instructor Anderson found innocent by jury
EDITOR’S NOTE: There were 12 postings prior to this latest update.
A state District Court jury on Thursday found Harlingen karate instructor Carlos Aanderson not guilty of sexual assault of three teen girls.
The jury had been given the case on Wednesday.
(Since Myleadernews was down due to a hacking incident no other late news in the matter is available here.)
HERE ARE THE EARLIER REPORTS:
The sexual assault case against Harlingen karate instructor Carlos Anderson will resumt in 107th state District Court on Tuesday, with the defense scheduling more witnesses.
The delay is due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday.
On Friday four teens taking the karate course testified Anderson never inappropriately touched them and indicated he was being set up by the three involved in the indictment against him. Other witnesses also testified on behalkf of the the instructor.
A mother of a student also testified that her child never was inappropriately touched.
On Thursday, the third woman involved in the sexual assault case against Harlingen karate instructor Carlos Anderson testified she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by him.
Under cross examination, the 19 year old, who was 13 at the time, said that for the love of karate and fear of Anderson she did not immediately tell anyone about the incidents. She also said that at the age of 13 she did not realize the severity of the assults.
She said it started with Anderson kissing her and then he began fondling her buttocks and genitals.
She denied that she and the other two mentioned in the indictment against Anderson had gotten together to get their stories straight.
On Wednesday, two more young women testified they too were molested.
They were not included in the indictment, but were subpoenaed by the prosecution. They said they had closed door meetings with Anderson and he inappropriatedly touched them and also had personal conversations with them. They were 12 and 14 at the time and said they were afraid to tell anyone about his activities.
The mother of one of the three girls in the indictment said she too was concerned about the closed door sessions with her daughter and told Anderson that. He said nothing inappropriate was happenings, she said.
Once she had to knock of the door to his office several times while her daughter was in there, before he unlocked the door.
A 24-year-old woman in the Air Force testified she was not touched, but that he pried into her personal life and she quit attending the courses.
On Tuesday two women, ages 19 anbd 25, testified that Anderson touched their genitals, breasts and buttocks while they were his students.
However, the defense maintains the two plotted against an innocent man.
The jury trial is being held before District Judge Benjamin Eureste. It is expected to last all week.
The instructor at USA Knights, located at 222 W. Jackson, has been free on a $100,000 bond.
He was charged with five counts of indecency with a child, aggravated sexual assault with a child and sexual assault with a child.
The charges involve three minors and date back to 2006.
Anderson was arrested in July of 2010, At the time there was criticism of the Harlingen Police Department because it had turned over the case to Texas Rangers since Anderson is the husband of police Lt. Myriam Anderson.
Former Police Chief Danny Castillo said the case was turned over to the Rangers to avoid perception of favoritism by his department. He also defended Myriam Anderson, saying in no way did she interfere with the case.
Some of Carlos Anderson’s students have declared the charges are false and that the students making the allegations are lying.
The court had permitted him to continue teaching despite the charges.
I understand this is the same man who was fired from a prison in Hidalgo County for abusing prisoners.
This karate instructor is guilty and he finally got caught. One of his female students who is now 26 years old knew what he was doing and she protected as many female students as she could. She would teach the students herself and disallow any sort of contact with Mr. Anderson.
This incident reminds me one of my HPD brother officers who we all knew was gay and hung around with kids making him a pedophile. The Chief ran interference for him while being investigated so when it came to Lt. Myram Anderson, he ran the same type of interference for her husband. “Hush” let’s keep it in the family was said quite frequently. Take a good look at this Carlos Anderson and how big his hands are and then imagine him using one of those huge hands to touch a child inappropriately. These are the secrets that all of us at HPD can’t talk about. So let’s make him a city commissioner so this sick f–k can continue keeping secrets.
The chief covering up and now he was voted into office. I hope the people who voted for him feel great about what they did. Any one who covers for a pedophile is just as guilty as the animal he is defending.
How did Castillo cover up. Did he not bring the tx rangers to investigate.
It took him months to call the Rangers and that was after citizens called and complained to the DA, s office and the Texas Rangers. Many people called him to ask him to arrest the pedophile but Danny did not want to make the mayor look bad during his campaign against Gorge Merrill. It sounds like you have no idea what is going on here in Harlingen but you just have to defend the good old boys. You are what is wrong with Harlingen. I wonder how you would feel if it was your daughter that man had put his hands on? His ex wife is or was in charge of sex offender unit. You see why Danny did not want too much publicity? Tell us how you would feel if it was your daughter?
I am not what is wrong with Harlingen … Look in the mirror
“These are the secrets that all of us at HPD can’t talk about.”
Then you’re just as guilty of it as the ex chief. What’s your excuse…protecting yourself, your income and your family?
I could not agree with you more Born of F!!
You have no idea what is going on at HPD. All the officers are intimidated and the now permanent Assistant Police Chief Mayer has been given free reign to come down on officers. Chief Whitten has a new friend that he hangs out with known as “El Ojete”. El Ojete and Whitten hang out at Buffalo Wings boozing it up.
Oh by the way, El Ojete is none other than the stalker Sergeant Andres Muniz who is in charge of Internal Affairs. We have contacted the police union lawyers but they move too slow. Ever since HPD officer Danny Cortez was fired, we no longer have a voice. Sergeant Gerald Manthey retired with a 24-hour notice recently because of what Mayer and the Ojete did to him. Mayer sucks the big one and all he has done is put a policy on how to grow a goatee.
You want me to go public on something that the city commissioners know about; go screw yourself Born on F Street. The only reason I survive is because I pretend not to know nothing or care about what is going on. El Ojete follows people around and we have a moron commissioner that caused an officer a lot of problems. The best police chief ever was Guy Anderson and I wish he was still with us.
You want to see another HPD cover-up, read this story:
January 03, 2009 11:05 PM
By JEREMY ROEBUCK and ANA LEYThe Monitor
McALLEN – Investigators spent two days tracking Moises Gonzalez’s destructive path across the Rio Grande Valley.
They plotted his movements hour by hour from the moment he kidnapped ex-girlfriend Maura Marroquin in McAllen to the second he fatally shot her at an H-E-B supermarket in Harlingen.
They interviewed dozens of people who witnessed her public slaying Wednesday night and combed over the Weslaco Wal-Mart where Gonzalez took his own life hours later.
McAllen police Chief Victor Rodriguez, who monitored every development in the case since the initial kidnapping, said there were several indicators Gonzalez’s behavior would become exceedingly violent Wednesday.
Most violent domestic disputes of the sort play out with the criminals hiding out with their victims for a few days before taking them home in the hope that they will “work it out and live happily ever after,” Rodriguez said.
But Gonzalez’s largely unrestrained actions showed little confidence in their relationship. The chief said it was also very unusual the man didn’t flee to San Antonio, where the couple was living.
“He didn’t just come here to take her and make up,” Rodriguez said. “Criminality has some typical behaviors we’re used to. … His behavior reached the abnormal point.”
Rodriguez said the nature of New Year’s Eve festivities may also have triggered a desire to kill.
“I figured he’s got to be thinking: ‘It’s the end of the year. I’ve got to end it all,’” the chief said. “The blatancy of his actions … raised some red flags.”
But as much as police have learned about the 28-year-old San Antonio man’s violent last days, one question remains for which no one has found an answer: Why?
With both Gonzalez and Marroquin dead, authorities said they may never learn exactly what prompted the New Year’s Eve murder-suicide or what went on between the couple in the days that led up to it.
That uncertainty lingered Friday for Marroquin’s family and friends as they prepared to bury the 23-year-old mother.
Her father, Mario Ruiz, said little when contacted at his San Juan home.
Friends said the family was confused over what motivated the violent rampage.
“It’s so hard for them,” said Efrain Salinas, who met Ruiz when they lived in Los Herreras, N.L., Mexico, more than 45 years ago.
“It’s tragic,” added Salinas’ wife, Amparo. “Young people need to listen to their parents.”
“(The family has) no idea why he kidnapped her,” said Gloria Mireles, a friend of Marroquin’s brother Mario Ruiz Jr. “We just want to help the family keep going.”
Marroquin’s estranged husband – Osbaldo Marroquin – was equally dumbfounded, having only met Gonzalez a few times since his wife moved to San Antonio with the man earlier this year. He could only surmise Friday what may have led him to kill her.
“From what she told me, he was a very jealous person,” he said.
Osbaldo Marroquin last saw his wife Monday. The couple had met to discuss plans for their impending divorce and custody of their nearly 4-year-old son, but Maura Marroquin also announced she had left Gonzalez.
“She didn’t seem scared or anything,” Osbaldo Marroquin said. “She just said she was through with him.”
One day later, authorities said Gonzalez abducted the woman at gunpoint and stole multiple vehicles in his attempts to flee police. The chase led investigators to Brownsville, Edinburg and Harlingen before he fatally shot himself Wednesday night. What happened in between could take months to figure out, Harlingen police Capt. Hector Leal said.
“Each agency is handling the investigation in their jurisdiction,” he said. “We’re working on piecing it together, and that’s going to take some time.”
Meanwhile, Osbaldo Marroquin wonders how he will explain his wife’s death to his son.
“She was a good person,” he said. “A good mother.”
HPD officer Israel Dominguez and his wife were at the HEB store in the Harlingen store when this happened. Israel is on HEB videotape running out of the store. Because of Israel, one on duty gun and one off duty gun was purchased by Chief Castillo. The television news reporter is trying to get the videotape from the City of Harlingen released but their request is being blocked by the city attorney. They claim it is still an open investigation. Bullshit, the suspect died. Israel Dominguez did not even contact the police department to report what he saw or did he try to follow the suspect vehicle.
So F Street tell me again why I should screw myself and be terminated from my job. While other police departments release their videos and 911 tapes, Harlingen Police do not. And this ahole of Dominguez is now a problem at HPD but he has Mayer’s protection.
Concerning Carlos Anderson, during the trial it was revealed that HPD had received an outcry from a victim who was interviewed at Maggie’s House. Chief Castillo knew about this and did nothing about it. One of the parents at the trial was outraged when this came out. Carlos was trying to get to their child also by using his office for private discussions. Do you now understand now Born on F Street why we can’t do anything about it. When the cover ups are condoned by our city officials, why should we stick our necks out?
Sounds to me that you’re doing the same thing everyone else is…covering your own ass.
You’re a city official, you act in an official capacity as a law enforcement officer of the city….are you condoning the coverup by not testifying to what you claim to know?
I don’t know what I would do in your situation, Jake. I’m no saint or martyr. It’s a tough position to be in.
When you testify at a trial, you don’t testify to hearsay. The Prosecutor assigned to the case brought it to the attention of the jury what I know and now it is up to the jury to decide if Carlos Anderson is guilty or not. I made sure that was taken care in my own way. The policeman’s job is to protect children from sexual predators and you are still trying to lay a guilt trip on my ass. Screw you twice Born on F Street. Danny Castillo was responsible and so were the city officials who allowed him to be the chief of police for nine miserable long years.
And you didn’t see the scumbag lawyer that had to defend Carlos Anderson attack the little girl like I did. The lawyer has to do his job because under the system that we have, he is innocent until proven guilty. I pray that jury can see through all the bullshit and find Carlos Anderson guilty.
“When you testify at a trial, you don’t testify to hearsay.”
There’s a reason for that. So you’re saying that all you know is what you’ve been told by someone else? …..hearsay?… rumors?….gossip?
Anderson may very well be guilty. If you have facts..you ought to come forward. If you don’t…you ought to let the jury decide. The same goes for all of your accusations of “coverups”. You do know that there are laws that protect whistle blowers.
Yeah,we know the history of what happens to whistle blowers around here. Especially cops.
Obviously Born on F Street you have no experience or knowledge of courtroom procedures when you testify as you do understand hearsay rules. There a lot of things that can’t be said on this Blog on this matter but I have a clear conscious. And the situation at hand is not a whistle blower matter because law enforcement already knows the facts. In a few years, I will leave the police department. My family will be taken care of and I will be free. People like you F St. who live in imaginary worlds will never truly understand what it is like to wear the badge and be afraid of your bosses verses the fear that we have from the job itself.
Jake: “why should we stick our necks out?”
I don’t know Jake….why should the higher ups stick their necks out?
Chief Tom Whitten is on vacation and where did he go? To Cancun Mexico on a cruise with “El Ojete” Sergeant Andy Muniz. I’m sure that El Ojete is showing Whitten how to stalk girls in Mexico. Whitten is a nice guy but he hasn’t figured out who is who at HPD. Muniz from the day that he became a sergeant has been a complete ahole and no one likes him. During his Internal Affair investigations, he calls you “mijo” before he screws you and tells you that he is your friend. Our city manager Carlos Yerena also knows what is going on from what I hear but once again our city officials are slow witted and let HPD officers get screwed.
Innocent? Hmmm, looks like Jake Elizondo and others were wrong about this guy and Chief Castillo. But that certainly is not unusual.
Whitten has not moved his family here. He is not stupid he sees the corruption going on everywhere. Try to get through to whitten no way.
Jerry Deal comments: You are the only person who has told me they could not reach him. Of course, it was impossible all this week because he was not in Harlingen.