After five days of testimony and nearly two hours of deliberation, Dominik Simunovic was found not guilty on all four counts of rape and attempted aggravated criminal sodomy by a jury Friday.
The fifth day of trial, May 3, started at 9:00 a.m. in which the state started with their closing arguments. Simunovic was accompanied by his attorney, Frederick L. Meier, and his father who was sitting in the front row directly behind Simunovic and Meier. Jane and her witnesses were not present in the courtroom on the fifth day of the trial.
The deliberation was preceded by closing statements from First Assistant Lyon County Attorney Amy Aranda and the defendant’s attorney Frederick L. Meier.
During her initial closing statement, Aranda reminded the jury to consider Jane’s consistency of the main points in her case.
“Jane is consistent,” she said. “Those main points stay the same … she has sensory details, details you can’t make up unless you experience it.”
She also pointed to the physical evidence of bruises, swelling, and scraping that Jane exhibited on her knees, which corroborates her account of the attack.
“How does one make up the physical evidence that corroborates that sensory detail,” Aranda said.
Aranda urged the jury to find Simunovic guilty after considering all evidence.
“At the end of your deliberation,” she said, “the state asks you to find the defendant guilty of rape and attempted aggravated criminal sodomy.”
After Aranda’s initial closing, Meier took to the podium to present the defense’s account of what happened on Oct. 14.
He encouraged the jury to consider what the case would look like without the video surveillance footage from The Bourbon Cowboy. Meier was insistent that the footage did not show Jane intoxicated or incapable of making decisions. Rather, she appeared happy.
When addressing evidence presented by the state over the course of the trial, Meier said “We’ve got 12 eyes and ears that can pick apart the inconsistencies that I can’t even begin to list … it’s pretty clear that this was a pre-planned ruse.”
Addressing the issue of consent, Meier said that sexual contact was “initiated and pursued by (Jane).”
He went on to encourage the jury to question Jane’s recollection of events.
“That’s not trauma, it’s fiction,” he said. “She had enough alcohol that she made a choice, a voluntary choice, that she now regrets.”
He urged the jury to find Simunovic not guilty of the charges.
“You’re going to realize that the only reasonable, fact-based verdict is not guilty,” he said.
Aranda finished her closing after Meier with 27 minutes to spare. In her final closing, she addressed Meier’s remarks of inconsistency, pointing out the inconsistencies within Siminovic’s own defense.
She proposed to the jury that Simunovic’s comments and testimony regarding how the events happened were inconsistent. She pointed to the fact that it was unlikely that Simunovic could fit in the area where the acts occurred, as he was 6 ‘3 and it was nearly impossible for Simunovic to access the area as the length was only 5’ 4.
Toward the end of her statement, she urged the jury to consider Jane’s ability to consent in making their final decision.
“This is not consent,” she said. “Flirting is not consent. A kiss is not consent. (Jane’s friend) telling the defendant that she wanted to have sex with him is not (Jane’s) consent.”
After Aranda finished her closing remarks, the jury was released to the jury room. The jury’s deliberation started at 10:38 a.m. and was delivered to the court at 1:17. Upon the reading of the not-guilty verdict, Simunovic’s father, Dario Simunovic broke into tears of relief in the courtroom, as Dominik turned to look at him. Dominik then turned to his right and hugged Meier. The father and son later embraced with a hug after the final not-guilty verdict was announced, which they hadn’t been able to do during the 5-day trial. Other attendees of the deliberation also joined Simunovic in the hallway of the courthouse as he exited upon the adjournment of the case.
