Douglas County jury finds man innocent in alleged sexual assault at Lake Tahoe
rspacek@recordcourier.com
A California man was found innocent of sexually assaulting a minor by a Douglas County jury.
Eric M. Jarvis, 20, of Granite Bay, was accused of molesting a minor on a boat in Lake Tahoe during the Fourth of July in 2015. According to court documents, there were a number of people watching fireworks on the boat when the incident occurred. According to documents, Jarvis, who was 18 at the time had been drinking. The victim was 15.
Las Vegas attorneys Warren Geller and Frank Cofer defended Jarvis in the trial.
According to Geller, the defense called six eyewitnesses, who were on the boat at the time of the alleged incident. The witnesses included Jarvis who testified that the assault case never happened. The other witnesses, according to Geller and Cofer said they did not see how there was any way the assault could have taken place the way they were all sitting in the boat.
The defense presented video evidence to the jury that showed Jarvis was not seated next to the victim during the fireworks show, when she said the assault was taking place.
Jarvis’s attorneys said he was relieved that he finally got the chance to testify and share his story of what happened after experiencing 27 months of accusations.
Jarvis was acquitted on Oct. 11 after an eight-day trial before six men and six women.
Geller and Cofer said Jarvis expressed interest in studying law to help others who may have been wrongly accused of a crime.
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