Fresno County DA's service dogs played a key role in convicting child molester

Oct. 10—The 12-year-old sexual assault victim didn't want to face her alleged abuser in court. She was terrified of reliving the horrible memories of being raped by her mother's 47-year-old boyfriend.

But prosecutor Amy Cobb knew her testimony and that of her brother, a witness to the abuse, was critical to convicting alleged abuser Steve Reyes and sending him to prison for 80 years.

Cobb had a plan. She asked the judge to allow the alleged victim to testify in another courtroom via Zoom. The judge agreed. Cobb also deployed a new tool for prosecutors, the Fresno County district attorney's newly acquired service dogs.

Two specially trained Goldendoodles named North and Nikko were brought on to the district attorney's office in July and one of their first major cases was helping the alleged victim and witness in Cobb's sexual abuse case.

On the day of her testimony, the nervous child sat in a courtroom, while the defendant, judge and jury were in a separate courtroom. North sat near the child as she testified about the abuse she endured over several months from Reyes, who stands 6 feet 2 inches and weighs 210 pounds.

When the witness testified, North's brother, Nikko, was curled up underneath the witness stand. The judge made the jury aware of the dog, although he was not visible.

"The dogs provide a calming presence," Cobb said. "When the children would talk about something upsetting or unpleasant, they would reach down and touch the dogs. It helped recenter them and helped them focus."

Cobb said the dogs did their job beautifully. The jury found the victim and the witness credible which led to Reyes' conviction on charges of intercourse with a child under 10 years old, oral copulation with a child under 10 years old and sexual penetration with a child under 10.

Reyes is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday.

Although the use of service dogs is not new to the criminal justice system, Fresno County hired its own team this year. Luckily for the county, the district attorney's office already had two investigators with dog handling experience: Lorena Jimenez and Patricia Varela.

The dogs live with their handlers and even share an office together, complete with dog beds, water bowls and, of course, dog treats.

Both Jimenez and Varela see the difference the dogs have made from the courtroom to meeting young victims for the first time in the district attorney's new meet and greet room.

The brightly colored room filled with lots of pillows, comfortable sofas and big-screen television is used to interview victims and their families.

"These dogs have the ability to change everything with some of these kids," Jimenez said. "They are scared and anxious and the dogs help take that away."

Varela recalls one young victim who would not talk about the trauma she suffered. She sat and said nothing until one of the dogs came into the room.

"She took a treat and fed it to the dog and then little by little she started to open up and we ended up having a short conversation," Varela said. "It's an emotional experience sometimes when you see what some of these kids have gone through."

Support for prosecutors, too

Nikko and North have even provided support to prosecutors in the district attorney's office.

Lisa Biggs, the DA's division commander for the family protection division, said stressed and emotionally exhausted lawyers also make use of the dogs by giving them an occasional hug or scratch behind the ears.

Biggs added that the dogs can be used for anyone needing extra support. One recent occasion, an adult victim of a violent crime was very anxious about walking to the courthouse alone to testify. The prosecutor found out she was a dog lover so they asked for the dog team's help.

Varela and North walked the woman to the courthouse, then waited with her in the hallway with North calmly by her side.

"She would pet him and talk with him and when she was called to testify, she went right in," Varela said.

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