By Jacob Nakamura
The woman who is accusing Jon Tuck of raping her on March 4, 2020 broke down in tears as she began to tell the jury her recollection of the early morning encounter with Mr. Tuck. The soft-spoken woman, whose face could not be seen from the media gallery, flew in for the trial from Los Angeles, where she lives.
She began by testifying she came to Guam in March 2020 with a friend for vacation and to work. At the time she worked at Foxy's, a popular bar and gentleman's club in Tumon. Throughout the woman's testimony today, the prosecutor had to help her remember the areas where she worked, and where the incident allegedly happened in Tumon; the woman is not from Guam and is generally unfamiliar with landmarks and places.
On the evening of March 3, she got off work from Foxy's at around 11 p.m, she said. The prosecutor asked her whether she remembers seeing Mr. Tuck at Foxy's.
"He was flirting with some girls, touching some girls," she said as Mr. Tuck sat silently with his attorney, Randy Cunliffe. "He was aggressive with his behavior. It was obvious the girls were uncomfortable."
She and friends walked from Foxy's to Jardee's, a restaurant along San Vitores Ave., about a five-minute walk from Foxy's. "I was intoxicated," she told the prosecutor to explain why she was generally unaware of the amount of time that had passed that night at Jardee's. She said she had three drinks, and was with a table of friends.
The woman testified she saw Tuck again at Jardee's; said he was with his friends before coming up to her.
"He asked me if I want to smoke," she testified. "He seemed friendly. He grabbed my hand and we went outside. We just kept walking and walking. I didn't know where we were at. I don't know Guam at all. He took me to the back. To the chapel."
The prosecutor presented to the jury a tampon, which was entered into evidence. There was an inaudible but brief discussion surrounding the tampon. Then the prosecutor asked, "What happened?"
"Jon walked me over to that spot," the woman testified, presumably showing the jury a place on a diagram the prosecutor had entered into evidence earlier during the testimony as an aid to the accuser.
"He started touching me. He started taking my pants off. I asked, 'What are you doing? What are you doing?' He took his hands and put them inside my vagina and anus forcefully. It hurt a lot and I said 'Stop!' He turned me over to where I was facing the the ground. He proceeded to take off all my clothes..."
The woman began to cry mid-sentence.
The prosecutor asked whether she needed a moment to compose herself, and she replied, "Yes please." Judge Maria Cenzon, who is presiding over the case, agreed, and placed the jury on a break.
About 15 minutes later, the court reconvened and Judge Cenzon announced that the woman's testimony will continue in the morning.
Kandit will continue covering this trial, which begins again at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
