'Monster' or caught in family feud? Trial begins for Houma man charged with raping 3 girls
Attorneys delivered opening arguments Wednesday in the trial of a Houma man charged with raping three young girls.
Juan Paz Zuniga, 43, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without probation or parole if convicted on any of the three counts of first-degree rape.
"Any small child believes in monsters. For some children, monsters are real. For some children, monsters are family," Terrebonne Parish Assistant Distrtict Attorney Amanda Mustin told the 12-member jury.
Mustin said the evidence against Zuniga is verbal, and while people may want physical evidence, that is often hard to come by when the victims are children.
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The three relatives Zuniga is accused of raping were all under 10 years old at the time, she said.
Zuniga's attorney, Jim Holt of Baton Rouge, said his client is innocent.
"The evidence will show there's something going on between the two families and Mr. Juan is caught in the middle," Holt told the jury. "We're going to ask you to not be swayed by these youth, not be swayed by the subject matter. ... This man's life is litterally on the line."
Zuniga’s 2018 arrest resulted from an investigation launched after detectives received a complaint from the suspect’s family members alleging he had sexually assaulted three girls under the age of 12, the Terrebonne Sheriff’s Office said. The three victims, who were raped on multiple occasions, did not live with Zuniga.
Zuniga was indicted by a Terrebonne Parish grand jury on the rape charges on Nov. 13, 2018. According to the indictment, the incidents happened between Jan. 1, 2017, and Aug. 19, 2018.
An indictment does not presume guilt or innocence but indicates the grand jury found prosecutors presented enough evidence to warrant a trial on the charge.
Zuniga is out of jail after posting a $1 million bond.
During the trial Wednesday, Mustin presented video of one of the girls, then 5, as she was questioned by a case worker about the allegations. The girl, now 9, watched from a seat in the courtroom as the video showed her describing graphic details of two instances in which she claims she was raped by Zuniga while she visited his home.
Attorneys also questioned her in court about both incidents, one she said occurred in a bed and another in a shower.
Prosecution witnesses included two women, 27 and 29, who testified that Zuniga had committed sex acts on them when they were children.
During cross-examination, Holt asked one of the women why she never reported the incident to the police.
"I didn't think you could do anything after so many years," said the 27-year-old, who is also a relative of Zuniga.
Holt asked the 29-year-old why, if Zuniga had sexually assaulted her earlier, she would let her daughter visit him. The 29-year-old's daughter is one of the girls Zuniga is accused of raping.
"She's a baby," the woman testified. "I never thought in my life. ..."
The trial began Tuesday with jury selection in state District Judge David Arceneaux's courtroom in Houma. It is expected to conclude Thursday or Friday.