Risky Business: Defendant Testifies in Rape Trial

Was it rape or just kinky sex gone awry?

Conflicting accounts in a San Francisco literary hobnobber’s trial for rape, attempted sodomy and assault will all come down to credibility, and that meant Deputy Public Defender Sangeeta Sinha putting her client on the stand.

Defense attorney Gail Campbell of the San Francisco firm Campbell and Jayne, who is unrelated to the case, said that although putting a defendant on the stand is always a risk, it’s the only way to get his side of the story out.

“If it’s a he-said-she-said, then you almost have to put them on the stand,” said Campbell, a former prosecutor in Contra Costa County.

Just how risky that move was will probably come out on Monday, when Assistant DA Marianne Barrett cross-examines Justin Desmangles.

Desmangles, 37, took the stand yesterday in San Francisco Superior Court Judge Jerome Benson’s courtroom, presenting himself as a well-spoken, well-connected culture lover who would never hurt anyone. He testified that it was his alleged victim, “Stacie G,” who had introduced him to her sexual preference for pressure under her throat during intercourse.

“I was trying to be a good lover,” he said in court. “I was trying to do the things that she told me she liked to do.”

Desmangles, who now lives in Sacramento, once hosted jazz and literary radio shows on local station KPOO and organized library events at the San Francisco Public Library. His list of high-profile character witnesses reads like a who’s who of the literary scene: the state’s poet laureate Al Young, San Francisco’s poet laureate Jack Hirschman, even former mayoral candidate Matt Gonzalez.

Desmangles explained Thursday that the first time he had sex with his accuser, a week before the alleged February rape, she had grabbed his wrist, placed it right under her throat and “pushed down hard.”

According to Desmangles, this “gesture” was new to him. In fact, he said, he considered it emotionally and physically awkward.

When they had sex a week later — this time on the floor after tumbling off the bed — Desmangles said he noticed a pile of cords, grabbed one and pressed it against her neck, clutching the cord from both sides. “Velvet” would be the safety word for Stacie G. According to Desmangles, Stacie G. never showed any indication she wanted him to stop. He said he stopped the sex voluntarily once she began to slap him on the thighs.

The extent of the woman’s injuries could be compelling evidence for the prosecution, Campbell said. If the defense is rough sex, she said, the defense would have to explain the injuries. Both Barrett and Sinha declined to talk about the case.

—  Millie Lapidario