Day 3 of jury trial for man accused of rape

The jury trial for a man accused of raping a female relative in San Vicente entered Day 3 with testimonies from expert witnesses.

The jury trial for Kenneth Thomas Blas Kaipat saw the prosecution calling up it’s first expert witness, a former Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. nurse who specializes in sexual assault examinations, which includes the use of rape kits.

Shawna Brennfleck stated that, based on her examination of the victim, her injuries were consistent with her claims of sexual assault.

During her testimony, assistant attorney general Steve Kessel, who is the lead prosecutor, moved to admit the contents of the rape kit used in examining the alleged victim, but defense counsel Brien Sers Nicholas opposed the admission of this evidence. The court has yet to rule on the verbal motion.

Kaipat’s trial is set to continue today at the Superior Court and is expected to continue on to next week.

According to the information against Kaipat, the victim was taking an afternoon nap on June 2, 2019, at a home in San Vicente, when she was attacked and raped. She was violently woken up as she was being strangled from behind. She said she could not identify the perpetrator as his face was covered with clothing.

Police officers reported that the female victim’s face was covered in blood that ran down to her chest while both her eyes were heavily bruised and swollen.

Medical records indicated that the victim sustained lacerations, extensive bruising, and had a concussion.

In an interview with Kaipat, he claimed he was walking to a nearby store when something hard hit him on the upper right side of his head.