Man Defends Himself in Molest Case : Courts: Nurse’s aide Victor Sumner is cross-examining witnesses who claim he fondled them. He has access to their addresses.

In a highly unusual sexual molestation trial in Simi Valley, the defendant has been allowed to function as his own lawyer--putting him in position to revisit his alleged crimes with his victims.

Not only is he cross-examining them, but as defense counsel he has access to their phone numbers and addresses. One victim said Monday that she was frightened because when the alleged crime occurred, he threatened to track her down and molest her again.

Several top family law experts as well as area social workers who counsel victims of sexual assault deplored the courtroom confrontation because of its potential effect on the victims, but conceded there were few options because of a defendant’s right to function as his own lawyer.

“I think it’s very disturbing,” said Patricia Phillips, a Los Angeles family attorney. “I would think it could be very intimidating for the victims to come forward and tell their story with the accuser standing there asking the questions.”

Two of three victims in the case testified Monday that nurse’s aide Victor Sumner fondled them while they were patients at Simi Valley Hospital.

The first, a developmentally disabled 32-year-old, sternly reproached Sumner during his cross-examination when he asked why she had not leaned over and pushed him away.

“We’re here about you,” she said. “You’re a mean man to ever do that to a girl who is in the hospital. Since you’ve done that I’ve been scared.”

Asked by Sumner why she was scared, the woman, described in court as being epileptic and having the mental capacity of an 8- to 10-year-old, responded: “Because you said you were going to take down your pants and make me have a baby.”

After the testimony was finished, the woman’s mother said she was relieved.

“We were holding our breath through the whole thing,” she said. “We thought she might have a seizure because of the fear of facing him again. But actually, I think she may have found it cathartic to get her anger out.”

The second woman, a 72-year-old who was so frail that she had to be wheeled into court on a hospital bed, also stood her ground during the examination from Sumner.

Sumner quizzed her on her ability to remember the incident, and the woman responded by recounting the event in great detail.

“I’ve tried to put this out of my mind,” the woman said. “But I cannot forget it.”

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Experts who specialize in counseling sexual assault victims said Monday that facing the alleged assailant a second time may have been very traumatic for the women, even if they showed little emotion on the stand.

“It’s hard enough to go through the trauma of an assault. I can’t imagine how horrible it must be for them to face the perpetrator a second time,” said Pam Cady, a counselor with the Ventura County Coalition Against Family and Sexual Violence. “They will most likely be hurt by this.”

Despite these risks, legal experts said Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. had little choice but to let Sumner represent himself.

“I don’t think there’s any way around it,” said Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred. “He has the right to represent himself. But still, I think it raises serious questions because of the intimidation the victims may feel about coming forward to testify.”

Allred said that in her experience, victims of sexual assault find any confrontation with their assailants emotionally trying.

“For women to know that they could be forced to have to answer questions from the defendant in court could have a serious chilling effect, preventing them from coming forward,” Allred said.

The trial originally was set for the Ventura County Hall of Justice in Ventura, but was ordered moved to the Simi Valley Courthouse last month because of the frail condition of two of the victims.

During arguments last week, Deputy Dist. Atty. Patrice D. Koenig tried to persuade Judge Campbell to at least prevent Sumner from gaining access to victims’ phone numbers and addresses.

But Campbell said Sumner, as the person in charge of the case, had the right to all pertinent information.

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UCLA law professor Peter Arenella said granting Sumner such access to his alleged victims is unusual.

“Normally when people represent themselves in crimes of violence, it’s not typical that (they) would be given access to the addresses and phone numbers of victims,” Arenella said.

As to Campbell’s decision to allow Sumner to represent himself, legal experts said the law was quite clear.

“The Supreme Court has ruled that a defendant has a constitutional right to represent themselves, which includes confronting your accusers,” Arenella said.

That does not mean it is a smart legal tactic, Arenella added.

“The major risk of representing yourself is that you have a fool for your lawyer,” he said.

Staff writer Mack Reed contributed to this story.