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Photo: Paul Wellman

Whose Mark is This?

Dueling Dentists Dominate Frimpong Retrial Hearing


Tuesday, March 4, 2008
By Chris Meagher (Contact)
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“Obviously, I'm learning more about bite marks than I ever knew," remarked Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Brian Hill on Monday, March 3. It was the third day of an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Eric Frimpong, a former UCSB soccer player found guilty of rape, will face sentencing for the crime or be retried.

Hill's words echoed the sentiments of many in the courtroom, as almost the entire proceeding thus far has centered on testimony from three dentists analyzing a bite mark on the face of the 19-year-old rape victim. During the trial in December, prosecutor Mary Barron called Dr. Norman Sperber to testify that Frimpong could "not be ruled out" as having caused the bite mark on the woman’s face. Sperber said that the victim’s lover, Benjamin Randall, could be ruled out, based on moldings taken of both men’s mouths. Frimpong’s attorney, Bob Sanger, has contended that his expert dentist, Dr. Charles Bowers, was unable to testify during the trial, and if he had, he would have swayed the jury toward a not-guilty verdict. Hill said at the beginning of the evidentiary hearing Thursday that if evidence presented in the hearing indicated Frimpong didn’t get a fair shake, he would order a retrial.

The victim, also a UCSB student, contends that she met Frimpong at a Del Playa Drive party in Isla Vista in February 2006, and after returning to his house to play beer pong, the two went down to the adjacent beach, where he became aggressive and raped her. While the defense doesn’t deny that the two met, Frimpong and his supporters contend he was turned off by the fact that she smoked and had a tongue ring. When he denied her advances, she reached her hand into his pants and grabbed his crotch, thus explaining the fact that her DNA was found on his scrotum. Sanger has suggested that it was Randall, not Frimpong, who committed the crime. Randall’s semen was found in the woman’s panties that night. While Randall admitted to hanging out with the victim at a party earlier in the night, he says he was at his apartment around the time the incident happened in the early morning.

Monday, the testimony of two additional dentists conflicted with that of Bowers, who told the judge that the bite marks were much more consistent with Randall’s teeth than Frimpong’s, based on the arc of the bite as well as the alignment of the teeth. He concluded that the bite mark on the woman’s face was made with the assailant’s lower teeth close to the woman’s mouth, while the upper teeth caused bruising closer to her jaw. Dr. Duane Spencer and Dr. Gregory Golden both concluded the exact opposite. Golden said that there was more than enough information to determine the orientation of the bite; he said that he showed photos to several of his dentist friends, and all of them came to the same conclusion. Pointing out the gaps in Frimpong’s teeth, and the difference between the arc of Frimpong’s teeth and the arc of Randall’s teeth, Golden concluded that “Mr. Frimpong’s dental signature is very similar to the bite on the face.”

Previously, Bowers had used the pattern of gaps to convincingly argue that Randall’s teeth could have very well caused the bite whereas Frimpong’s teeth, especially his two front teeth, didn’t appear to match the bite. Frimpong’s teeth, Bower explained, are larger than the bruising on the face.

The evidentiary hearing will continue Friday, March 7, at 10 a.m. in Department 2.

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I don't know any of these people or their bites ---- but if even dentists disagree, wouldn't a jury of Frimpong's peers (or of someone's peers) NOT been able to reach a decision because of a reasonable doubt as to which dentist is accurate?

How can a guilty verdict be left stand? (But, then, again, how to go through the whole trial scene again?!)

1066etal (anonymous profile)
March 4, 2008 at 5:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Damn, you are a little wet behind the ears aren't you? Sorry for that, but you are a defense attorney's dream. First and foremost, anyone can be paid to say anything. And, yes, that includes prosecution experts as well. But the evidence in question is inconclusive at best. And that does not make Frimpong guilty or innocent, in and of itself. There is an abundance of other physical evidence in the case and that evidence not only points to Frimpong, but the implausible theories that the defense puts forth strain logic. The judge said the evidence in this case was overwhelming against Frimpong. Like youself, I wasn't there but the judge was and the jury were.

Suppose there was no physical evidence. The girl says she was raped and Frimpong says she grabbed down his pants getting her DNA on his crotch (unlikely from a sampling standpoint) and that he rejected her advances (unlikely from a male in his early 20's). Could she be lying? Sure, I guess. But what is the possible motive for a university student to lie? She has none that I can think of. And he does. He doesn't want to go to jail for 8 years (more like 4). It's far from a perfect system and innocent people do go to jail. Many cases upset me because of lack of evidence but I won't be losing any sleep over this one at all.

MusselShoalsResident (anonymous profile)
March 5, 2008 at 1:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Sorry but I find it very far-fatched that this lame testimony could be grounds for setting aside the jury's verdict in this case.
First, the dental expert testimony at trial was tangential and weak at best, not at all dispositive, indicating not that the bite marks WERE the defendant's but only that the expert could not rule out the defendant as the source. (This article so poorly lays out the evidence about the victim's boyfriend, with whom she had consensual sex several days earlier, it strongly suggests he was the perpetrator, something the defense attorney was unable to sell to the jury at trial, even just to raise reasonable doubt of Frimpong's guilt).
Second, there was abundant and compelling physical evidence and testimony of Frimpong's guilt produced during the trial, as the Judge noted at the start of the hearing (the strongest such evidence the judge has ever seen in a rape case, which one hopes indicates he will ultimately deny this very ordinary post-trial motion).
Third, the defense expert upon whose testimony the defense bases its motion to set aside the jury's verdict was not prevented from testifying at trial because of anything the prosecution did nor any ruling by the judge excluding him - he was sick and couldn't make it. The idea that a jury verdict could be set aside on this basis, rather than some newly-discovered post-trial evidence, strikes me as absurd and fraught with all kinds of possibilities for misuse by less scrupulous defense lawyers.
Fourth, there appears to be a substantial possibility the defense expert has reversed the dental arches and has them upside down as three prosecution experts have concluded. Presumably, the judge will sort that one out but it underlines the inherent weakness of this type of evidence, whether offered by the prosecution or the defense.

The hearing should be concluded expeditiously, not allowed to drag on any longer than necessary, and sentence imposed. (The judge bent over backwards in even granting a hearing on this motion). No one should not lose sight of the fact that this was a vicious and brutal rape which the jury, after hearing the evidence at trial, found BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT was carried out by this defendant. The fact that he was a good soccer player or that he has teammates and friends who support him should not cloud anyone's understanding about what happened here and at trial.

Justice (anonymous profile)
March 5, 2008 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

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