strength & conditioning coach Rath … trial … update: back with team

This is the specific allegation, re: Rath. pic.twitter.com/7W2xDHGeoH

— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) March 15, 2019

Joe Curley@vcsjoecurley
The trial of Ted Rath, the Rams director of strength and performance, began this afternoon in Ventura. Rath is accused of three counts of sexual battery.

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Trial begins for L.A. Rams’ strength, conditioning coach

Megan Diskin, Ventura County Star

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/moorpark/2019/07/05/trial-begins-l-a-rams-strength-conditioning-coach/1643643001/

A Moorpark woman was asleep in her bed when an accused Los Angeles Rams coach allegedly touched her inappropriately, the prosecution said Friday as the coach’s trial began.

Theodore “Ted“ Rath, the strength and conditioning coach for the NFL team headquartered in the Conejo Valley, has been charged with three counts of misdemeanor sexual battery in the alleged June 2018 incident.

Rath, 35, of Moorpark, has pleaded not guilty to the allegations through his defense attorneys Vicki Podberesky and Bill Haney.

Rath was arrested Jan. 15, five days before the Rams beat New Orleans in the NFC championship game. He was booked into Ventura County jail and released on $5,000 bail, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.

Rath is on a leave of absence from the team as the case goes on.

The trial began about 4:30 p.m. Friday in Ventura County Superior Court with Senior Deputy District Attorney Erik Nasarenko laying out for jurors what the 33-year-old alleged victim claims happened that night at her home on Breeze Glen Way.

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from: https://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-ted-rath-trial-begins-20190705-story.html

After nearly three days of jury selection, the trial for Ted Rath, the Rams’ director of strength training and performance who pleaded not guilty to three counts of misdemeanor sexual battery, began Friday in Ventura County Superior Court.

Rath, 35, has been on leave from his position with the Rams since mid-January, after he was charged for an alleged June 2018 incident that involved a woman he knew at her residence in Moorpark.

…

If convicted on all counts, Rath could face a maximum of 18 months in jail and would be required to register as a sex offender.

AlbaNY_Ram

Just to be clear, this is what the charges claim – that he “touched an adult woman against her will on intimate parts of her body for the purpose of sexual arousal and gratification.” https://www.ocregister.com/2019/03/15/rams-get-back-coach-ted-rath-charged-with-three-counts-misdemeanor-sexual-battery/. The woman says she was asleep when the alleged assault occurred. https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/moorpark/2019/07/05/trial-begins-l-a-rams-strength-conditioning-coach/1643643001/

Rams strength coach Ted Rath testifies during his sexual battery trial

link: https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/moorpark/2019/07/11/rams-strength-coach-ted-rath-testifies-during-his-sexual-battery-trial/1708036001/

A Los Angeles Rams coach accused of sexual battery testified in his trial Thursday about his fuzzy memory the night the alleged incident occurred and memory flashes he said he has from the night in question.

Theodore “Ted” Rath, 35, the strength and conditioning coach for the NFL team, said he suddenly felt disoriented and unstable while sitting around a fire pit at his Moorpark neighbor’s house on June 15, 2018. He testified he thought he might fall if he stood up.

His accuser, who lives at the house, said she was in her bed that night when she was awakened to find hands touching her. Rath has pleaded not guilty to three counts of misdemeanor sexual battery, and is on a leave of absence from the Rams while his case is ongoing.

Rath testified he has random “snapshots” of scenes in his mind from that night, including one in a bathroom and a fall on what he assumes was his walk home. He said he has no memory of what his accuser, a now 34-year-old Moorpark woman who lived at the home he was visiting that night, claims happened.

In opening statements in his trial, his defense team said the evidence would show Rath was not able to form the necessary criminal intent for the alleged offenses.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Erik Nasarenko showed Rath a transcript of a July 2018 conversation with a Ventura County sheriff’s detective in which he says he’s 99.99% sure it did not happen.

But in court on Thursday, he said he wasn’t sure.

Both, Rath said. He measures certainty as 100%. He said he wishes he knew why he could remember other events from that night but not the one in question.

The woman testified Tuesday that she and her husband had seen Rath and his wife at a fundraiser about 6 p.m. June 15, 2018. They mingled and later some other neighbors and friends went to a local bar to continue the night. Most of that group would end up at her home about 11:40 p.m. to continue the night, she testified.

But Rath’s wife wasn’t there. She had to go home to relieve the babysitter, she testified. That left the Moorpark woman alone with men talking about sports, so within five to 10 minutes, she decided to go to bed, she testified.

The Star typically does not identify people who may be victims of sex crimes.

Her husband came into the room about 20 minutes later to tell her more people had arrived, including another woman, but she was tired, so she went to sleep, she testified. At some point after that, she was awoken to hands on her buttocks that eventually went to her stomach and genitalia, she testified through tears.

She said she was on her side, glanced over and allegedly saw Rath. She turned onto her back for a better look, but pretended like she was still asleep, and it was still him, she claimed. Many thoughts were racing through her mind, but she thought she’d pretend to think the man was her husband and play the tired-wife card, she testified.

On Thursday, Rath testified that he remembers the Moorpark woman at the fire pit but doesn’t recall her leaving or saying goodnight.

After that, things get hazy, he said.

Rath testified he wanted to leave that night with his wife, but another neighbor had arrived with whom he wanted to talk about something work-related.

Rath and his accuser both testified they had never flirted with each other, made sexual advances or touched each other, including on the night of the alleged incident. The Moorpark woman testified Rath made a comment about her appearance that seemed somewhat inappropriate in April 2018 at her birthday party, but that was the only thing that stood out.

Rath’s defense attorney Vicki Podberesky asked him more about that comment during her questioning on Thursday. Rath said he was raised to be polite and kind and to compliment women, especially on their birthday, which can be a sensitive time.

“The way I’ve been raised is to respect women and treat them with respect,” Rath said.

The comment was also made in front of his wife, and he would never want to make her or any other woman feel uncomfortable, he said.

Podberesky played jurors parts of a “cool call” or “pretext call” that Rath’s accuser made to him on June 25, 2018, several days after she reported the incident to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. Such calls are sometimes conducted to elicit a confession from a perpetrator.

Nasarenko played the full recording for jurors Tuesday when it was time for the woman to testify.

On Thursday, Podberesky played portions of the call where Rath tells her he doesn’t remember doing what she’s accusing him of. In the call, he says he remembers being “hammered” and going home but apologizes if he did touch her.

Rath testified Thursday that he believes an apology would be appropriate if that happened.

But Rath thought it was odd that he would have such a reaction to alcohol, since he didn’t drink that much on that night. He testified that when he was at the Moorpark home, he thought he could have been able to drive before the sudden sensation set in.

An emotional Rath testified about a stroke-related event he suffered on May 7, 2018. At work, he had blurred vision, was nauseated and vomited. He was taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center by other Rams staff members and recalls waking up to a room full of doctors but not being able to speak, he testified.

He was at the hospital for two days but spent several weeks at home recovering and regaining his strength. He was also taking aspirin and Lipitor as prescribed by his doctor.

On Wednesday, the doctor who treated him testified. His defense team also called another doctor, an expert witness, to testify about the medical factors at play for Rath the night of the alleged incident.

Jurors just went back to start deliberations in the sexual battery trial of L.A. Rams strength and conditioning coach Ted Rath. If a verdict comes back today I’ll send out an update.

— Megan Diskin (@megandiskin) July 12, 2019

Jurors find L.A. Rams strength, conditioning coach Ted Rath not guilty of sexual battery

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/moorpark/2019/07/12/jury-finds-l-a-rams-strength-conditioning-coach-not-guilty/1719814001/

Jurors found Los Angeles Rams strength and conditioning coach Ted Rath not guilty Friday of three counts of sexual battery.

They deliberated for about an hour before returning the verdict on the misdemeanor offenses stemming from an alleged June 2018 incident.

Rath was accused of touching a neighbor on her buttocks and genitalia while she was asleep in her bed as he was visiting the house of her and her husband.

Rath, 35, of Moorpark, pleaded not guilty to the accusations. He maintained throughout the investigation and the trial that he did not remember what happened that night and had only “snapshots” of memory. His defense attorneys Vicki Podberesky and Bill Haney argued that this may have happened as a side effect from medication he was taking after suffering a stroke several weeks earlier.

“All I can say is that I’m very grateful the jury was quick in their decision. They saw right through the prosecution’s case and went right to the truth. And that’s all this is about. It’s one of those wonderful moments where the truth really prevailed,” Podberesky said.

Rath declined to comment to The Star after the verdict was read. In the courtroom, he hugged his wife as they both shed tears.

He was facing a year in custody for each misdemeanor count and lifetime registration as a sex offender, “which is something the DA should consider next time they put charges like this,” Podberesky said.

Rath’s defense team argued that the medication, in combination with the alcohol he consumed that night and his risk for suffering another stroke may have led to hazy memory.

His defense team said the case should have never been filed. Rath told law enforcement officers he had a medical condition and they didn’t give him the courtesy of investigating it, Haney said.

“He knew from day one that he would be acquitted because they never investigated his medical defense,” Haney said.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Erik Nasarenko prosecuted the case against Rath. Nasarenko walked out of the courtroom Friday as Rath hugged his attorneys.

“Obviously, we’re profoundly disappointed, but we also acknowledge this is the jury process and Mr. Rath was ultimately judged by a jury of his peers who found the defendant to be not guilty,” Nasarenko said. “It’s incredibly difficult for sex assault victims to hear and see that outcome, but ultimately this is the legal process of our state and our country.”

He said the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office files cases when prosecutors believe there’s sufficient evidence to proceed to a jury trial.

“And in this case, we had a victim who had he courage and strength to come forward and speak to what happened to her,” Nasarenko said.

Her statements were supported by multiple witnesses, and Rath’s medical condition would in “no way” have changed prosecutor’ approach to the case, Nasarenko said.

On the night of the alleged incident, Rath and his accuser had gone to a fundraiser earlier in the evening with their spouses and mingled with others from the community. The four later went to a local bar and then to the Moorpark woman’s house.

The Moorpark woman testified she was awoken to hands touching her and saw Rath standing by her bed. She pretended to mistake him for her husband and said, “not tonight, babe,” that she was tired, she testified.

The Star does not generally identify people who may be the victim of sex crimes.

Then the hands froze, she said. Nasarenko argued that Rath was allegedly cogent enough in the moment to recognize her words and stop.

Rath has been on a leave of absence from the football team headquartered in the Conejo Valley while his case was ongoing.

My take on this. We have lawyers on board and I would be happy to hear their take. Mine is obviously not a lawyer’s view.

The law in question turns heavily on issues of intention. What did the accused intend. On the other extreme, if we accidently brush up against someone in a crowd, the other party might be offended, but we broke no law–we did not intend physical contact based on any kind of sexual motive.

I think that’s what Rath was doing. It’s not just that he was not responsible for his actions, he’s saying it was not a conscious intention on his part, but the effect of being messed up. Since the law in question turns heavily on intention, he and his team are targetted that. I;m not defending him btw. Just sort of unpacking what his defense appeared to be.

I think what happened is what everyone said happened, and the jury then accepted the idea that Rath being messed up was enough to not really have a willful intent. That was his defense anyway and you have to assume what got him acquited was his defense.

So he did not deny doing it though he claims he has no recollection of it. At least he’s not playing the “blame the victim” card and claiming nothing happened, which in turn would paint the woman as a false accuser….something which, as we know, can often happen in cases like this. As we know often
accusations of sexual assault–even misdemeanor sexual assault–turn it into a trial of the victim. In that case the defendent denies doing anything and makes it about the victim’s motives for accusing him. This kind of “guilty until proven innocent and often not even then” approach to the accuser is so common, that it is estimated that only 1/4th of victims of sexual assault (felony or misdemeanor) ever even come forward and report it. Facing that kind of “blame the victim” accusation is very daunting and often people decide it’s better to just never report it. Rath did NOT take the path of denying the accusation and therefore in effect putting the victim on trial. So there’s that.

His defense is one that has worked before. In discussing this with different people I heard about a young man who was acquitted when charged with the same kind of thing because he claimed his actions happened while sleep walking, and apparently the jury bought that. That turns on the same issue–conscious and deliberate intention. It doesn’t excuse Rath’s actions, but it apparently did raise reasonable doubt about the intention of those actions–was he consciously doing this as a direct matter of choice?

Will the Rams bring him back? I mean he was acquited, right? I think it’s a little grayer than that. Again he did not deny doing what he was accused of doing. He didn’t say he didn’t do it–he basically said he wasn’t in a state of mind (for medical reasons) to consciously and deliberately intend what he did. So that leaves a gray area IMO. Is that defense believable outside that courtroom? Because the Rams and the NFL do not have to accept that defense. So since he didn’t deny doing what he is accused of but got off presumably because of his mental state at the time, is that enough for the Rams to say no he’s fine? Or the league for that matter