Sexual assault case against former rug shop manager moves forward

An Orange County judge ruled Friday that there is enough evidence to hold a former Laguna Beach rug gallery manager for trial on charges that he sexually abused multiple women.

After a preliminary hearing at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, Judge Richard Pacheco scheduled Saeid Boustanabadi Maralan, 57, for a Dec. 28 arraignment to answer multiple charges.

Maralan, who managed the now-shuttered Sirous & Sons Rug Gallery on Ocean Avenue, is accused of nine felonies, including rape, sexual penetration by a foreign object, attempted oral copulation and distributing lewd material to a minor. The alleged crimes occurred from 2007 to 2011.

Maralan’s attorney, John Barnett, objected to two of the nine counts, arguing the evidence and testimony did not meet legal standards.

Barnett doubted the accuracy of the oral copulation charge from a woman interviewed by former Laguna Beach Detective Julia Clasby, who finished testifying Friday after being questioned in court earlier this year.

“Detective Clasby said she could not recall or explain how the defendant orally copulated [the witness],” Barnett said, reading from court transcripts.

Pacheco replied that his notes from the hearing earlier this year show that the alleged victim described being violated.

Barnett said Clasby should have been more detailed in researching the allegations for her court testimony but instead relied on a vague memory.

Barnett also objected to the charge of distributing lewd material to a minor, in this case a 17-year-old girl, and whether images on Maralan’s computer rose to the level of “harmful matter” and pornography.

A Laguna Beach police officer testified that the girl said Maralan had shown her images of naked men and women, Barnett said.

“The description of the images seen for a second on his computer do not satisfy the element of harmful,” Barnett said. “It has to be more than simply naked images.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Carroll disagreed.

“She walked away from the defendant after he showed her a porn site,” Carroll told Pacheco. “She immediately turned away to avoid looking at images.”

Barnett said if this standard applied, then women with string bikinis walking around Laguna Beach could be considered pornographic.

“I don’t think a string bikini is pornographic,” Pacheco said. “A porn site, I take it as two individuals engaging in sexual contact, and that should not be shown to someone under 17.”

Earlier in the hearing, Barnett questioned Clasby on the thoroughness of the investigation. He wondered why Clasby deleted some voice mails she received from people regarding the case.

Clasby said she received more than 100 phone messages and “called back people that I decided had info relevant to the case.”

Barnett also asked about emails between a woman who claimed sexual misconduct against Maralan and lived in an apartment on the rug store property, and the rental agency.

Clasby said she could not track down emails from either the woman or the rental agency.

“[The rental company] gave me the runaround,” Clasby said. “I was not able to find anyone who said they talked to her.”

Barnett asked Clasby if she subpoenaed the company for the records and Clasby said she had not.

“Questioned about the woman, Clasby said, “It had been several years and she could not find the emails. She attempted to contact the landlord of the property, but it had changed [ownership].”