Trial Fallout Spreads to O.C. : Spousal abuse: While some battering husbands cite Simpson’s acquittal, women’s shelters see it not as a setback, but as a catalyst for change.

Television sets all over the world flashed the image of O.J. Simpson mouthing the words “thank you” to the jury on the day of his acquittal on charges of murdering his ex-wife and a friend of hers.

But for one Orange County woman, gratitude was the last thing on her mind.

The picture that she remembers vividly from that day was of an enraged husband, who had shoved her into walls during an argument and pelted her with various objects before saying, “If O.J. can do it, so can I,” said Ann Bouquet, counselor at the unidentified shelter where the 30-year-old woman and her 4-year-old son are now living.

For Bouquet, the woman’s account--heard during a surge of calls to battered women’s shelters in the days after the verdicts--realized her worst fears about the case, that abusive men might interpret Simpson’s acquittal as an endorsement of their behavior.

It also provides just one example, however stark, of how the Simpson verdict--indeed the whole trial--has influenced the fight against domestic violence. The prosecution characterized Simpson as a wife batterer, noting his no contest plea to spousal abuse charges in 1989 and dramatically displaying photographs of the bruised face of Nicole Brown Simpson during its closing argument.

Taking stock of the verdict’s fallout, Orange County investigators and social workers said they view the verdict not as a setback, but a catalyst to alter the fight, an opportunity to capitalize on the heightened awareness the entire case has raised about domestic violence.

In the days after Tuesday’s announcement of the verdict, the four hot lines that serve battered women in Orange County reported a surge in calls from women in distress.

Counselors said they had been too busy to log the increase in calls, but they estimate an increase of 10% to 25% over the usual 10 to 50 calls a day.

The upsurge was related to women’s rising awareness of domestic violence, not necessarily an increase in violence, said counselors who work with abused women.

“This is certainly not going to make anyone do it or not do it, but [the verdict] might make them feel justified,” said Shirley Gellatly, communication educator for Human Options, a countywide nonprofit organization helping battered women.

At least a handful of callers reported death threats with Simpson links, counselors said.

“[One] said her husband said he’s going to ‘O.J. her’ and started laughing,” said a counselor who answered the call. “She didn’t think it was funny. That really scared her.”

Another woman was told, “I’m going to do to you what O.J. did to Nicole,” said Sylvia Crawford, a counselor at a referral center for battered women in Orange County.

“We’ve heard a lot of that sort of thing,” Crawford said. “Many of [the women] feel betrayed by [the verdict].”

Deni Jacobson, a supervisor at the Women’s Transitional Living Center--one of at least four shelters in Orange County serving battered women--said she has talked to a few women who, since Tuesday, are having second thoughts about pressing charges against their abusive spouses. Jacobson and others are also concerned that women will be less likely to report abuse out of a fear that they won’t be protected from further abuse.

“They’re scared,” Jacobson said. “They’re saying, ‘Why bother?’ They feel as if batterers have been given a license to kill with this verdict.”

But others devoted to curbing domestic violence maintained hope that the Simpson case would ultimately help reduce its occurrence.

Human Options has raised $3.2 million over the past year and a half for a new shelter that would provide 22 more beds than the 18 it has now, Gellatly said.

“I don’t know for sure that [the success of the fund-raiser] has to do with the O.J. case,” Gellatly said. “But the timing definitely coincides.”

The case has also left its imprint on state laws. On Thursday, Gov. Pete Wilson signed a bill repealing a program that allowed first-time domestic violence offenders to escape criminal prosecution by attending counseling. According to the legislation, fueled by images of a battered Nicole Brown Simpson, offenders will still be diverted to counseling, but it will not erase convictions from their record.

The case, law enforcement authorities said, has nudged some abused women to press charges--a phenomenon not taken lightly by investigators since historically women have been reluctant to file complaints against their abusers.

Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson said that in the last year at least 10 women have pointed to the heightened awareness surrounding the Simpson case as the main reason they decided to file complaints against their abusive husbands or boyfriends.

“The O.J. case caused them to come forward, whereas they might not have done so otherwise,” Wilkerson said.

Awareness also started climbing among local police and county judges as soon as Simpson was arrested as a suspect and his history of spousal abuse came to light, said Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Guy Ormes, who oversees the felony arm of the district attorney’s domestic violence unit.

“We saw it in more cases, more referrals,” Ormes said. “The murders helped in the sense that it made police realize, ‘No, this isn’t just a family quarrel that should be left alone.’ ”

The domestic violence unit was formed in the spring of 1993, and has continued to grow with the help of a state grant despite county budget cuts since the bankruptcy, Ormes said.

Of the 188 felony cases filed by the unit between Oct. 1, 1994, and Sept. 30, 1995, 18 have gone to trial--and all 18 resulted in guilty verdicts, Ormes said. Sixty-five other defendants pleaded guilty, and the remaining 105 cases are pending, Ormes said.

“We need to remember that [the Simpson acquittal] does not follow a standard trial and this is not a classic case,” said Jan Tyler of Human Options. “There are many men who are being arrested and [successfully] prosecuted for battering their wives.

“The case may set us back but it won’t stop us,” Tyler said.

Roby Gallagher, a Tustin therapist, said some men facing trial on domestic violence charges are concerned that prosecutors will pursue domestic violence cases with more fervor as a backlash to the Simpson verdict.

“One man . . . was in court the day the verdict was handed down,” Gallagher said. “His first reaction was, ‘Oh my God, they’re going to really get tough on us now.’ ”

That is precisely what those fighting domestic violence want. But they realize the heightened interest may be fleeting and vow to keep the awareness alive.

Human Options and a group of South County women will hold a candlelight vigil at Main Beach in Laguna Beach from 7 to 9 p.m. today in memory of Nicole Brown Simpson. Participants are asked to bring candles or other lights and to wear white clothing.

On Thursday, about 100 people attended a meeting to sign up as volunteers for the Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation, which was formed by the Brown family to help fight domestic violence.

“We know this is not a problem that’s going away,” said Janine Limas, shelter services liaison director at Interval House in west Orange County. “It was there yesterday, it was here today and it’s going to be here tomorrow.”

Times correspondent Leslie Earnest contributed to this report.

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Who to Call

Women who might be involved in abusive relationships can call these hot lines for help:

North County

* Women’s Transitional Living Center, (714) 992-1931

West County

* Interval House, (714) 891-8121

South County

* Human Options, (714) 494-5367

* Laura’s House, (714) 498-1511