Defense Says Jurors Split 10-2 In 'Hockey Mom' Case

Jurors in the case of Kathia Davis, the 45-year-old South Orange County 'hockey mom,'  convicted her son's then-16-year-old friend in her Laguna Niguel home, deadlocked on charges relating to another teen.

Defense Attorney David Cohn said four jurors told him after they reached the verdicts that they were split 10-2 for guilt on the remaining counts. The 10 who voted for guilt were women and the two men did not believe the boy, Cohn said.

"The men on the jury did not believe the kid, the women did believe him,'' Cohn said. "On direct examination the kid got emotional for a minute and I saw a couple of women on the jury grab a tissue. So no matter what I said in cross-examination wasn't going to make any difference.''

Davis was found guilty of four felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and two misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Davis was acquitted of one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and the jury hung on four counts alleging she performed lewd acts with a then-13-year-old boy.

Prosecutors intend to seek another trial. Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker alleged Davis provided alcohol to members of her son's hockey team and sexually assaulted at least two of them between 2005 and 2010. Authorities eventually were notified after the 16-year-old's mother revealed to Davis' ex-husband that her son admitted to having sexual liaisons with Davis.

Davis, who was taken into custody after the verdicts, could face up to five years in prison, Cohn said. However, she could also be placed on probation and might be able to serve her time in a county jail while avoiding a lifetime registration as a sex offender, Cohn said.

If Davis is convicted on the remaining counts she would have to serve at least 85 percent of the time in prison and would face lifetime registration as a sex offender, Cohn said.

The acquittal on the misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor related to an accusation that Davis had let her son smoke marijuana, Cohn said. The two boys did not play on the same team, but both played on teams with the defendant's son, he added.

Walker said Davis' home developed a reputation for being a "party house'' where the hockey players could gain easy access to alcohol.

The older boy, who Walker said was 16 at the time, had sex with the defendant in the summer of 2010, according to the prosecutor. Indignant parents confronted Davis at some point about the parties at her home and she promised to dial it down, Walker said.

Last summer, the boy and Davis had sex again on a couple more occasions, Walker said, and the boy eventually told his mother The mother "became irate that her ... son was having sex with a woman 25 years older, a woman she thought was her friend,'' Walker said.

When Davis failed to return the mother's phone calls, she sent text messages to the defendant, Walker said. The mother issued an ultimatum: cease any contact with her son or else she would go to law enforcement, Walker said.

When her son later told his mother to stop "harassing'' Davis, the woman reported the allegations to the defendant's ex-husband, who reported the accusations to deputies, Walker said.

When confronted by investigators, Davis denied having sex with the older boy, but then later acknowledged it, Walker said. Davis alleged the younger boy "came on to her and she rebuffed him,'' Walker said. Cohn told jurors that his client consistently denied initiating any sexual contact with the younger boy.

The boy and Davis' son "got into alcohol'' in the house and got drunk, Cohn said. As the two boys and Davis' daughter were watching television and were dozing off, the 13-year-old tried to kiss Davis, Cohn said.

"She shoved him away and said, 'What the heck are you doing? This ain't happening. You've had too much to drink,''' Cohn said.

Davis felt compelled to tell the boy's mother what happened, but was ``leery'' because she was concerned that he had gotten drunk during a stay at her home, Cohn said.

The defense attorney said even after the incident, the boy's mother planned a trip to the Bahamas for her family and Davis' family. Davis assumed that the older boy was 18 years old like her son when they had sex, Cohn said.

The victim had a Facebook profile that indicated he was 19, according to Cohn. The defense attorney also denied his client supplied alcohol to the hockey players, saying the youths sneaked booze into the parties and would play "beer pong" in a garage while the adults were elsewhere in the house.

The older boy "became enamored of Kathia" and started sending his "crush" text messages saying he wanted to have sex with her, Cohn said. Davis, at the time, was going through a "tumultuous divorce,'' and eventually gave in to the boy, Cohn said.

--City News Service