Victim in WDFW sexual assault trial says she had friendly relationship with defendant, his wife

The victim at the center of a state Department of Fish and Wildlife sexual assault trial was cross-examined Tuesday, and testified that she had a friendly relationship with the defendant and his wife.

The defense worked hard to establish that the victim was more aware of what happened the night of Dec. 17, 2014, than she had previously testified. It was that night, following a Fish and Wildlife Christmas party at Mercato Ristorante in Olympia, that the victim alleges she was sexually assaulted by Gregory A. Schirato, a co-worker at the time. The victim no longer works for Fish and Wildlife.

Schirato is charged with one count of second-degree rape and one count of first-degree burglary.

Although defense attorney Richard Woodrow spent most of Tuesday morning questioning the victim, his first question of the day drew an objection from deputy prosecuting attorney Megan Winder.

The question: How many times had the victim been to the defendant’s house?

Winder immediately objected and that objection was sustained by Thurston County Superior Court Judge James Dixon. Winder argued that at issue was consent, and that previous visits were irrelevant. Dixon agreed. The jury was excused during that discussion, but once they were back and seated, Dixon instructed them to disregard the question.

But Woodrow established that the victim, Schirato and his wife had been friends for about two years. The victim previously had had dinner with Schirato and she had gone out for drinks with his wife 10 to 15 times. The victim and the wife also had traveled to Hawaii together.

According to the victim’s testimony Monday, after dinner and drinks at Mercato, followed by more drinking at the Brotherhood, the victim drove home drunk. Once inside her Olympia home, she said she fell asleep and passed out. However, she testified Monday that in a semi-conscious, dream-like state, she recalled hands caressing her back, unclasping her bra and touching and fondling her breasts and other parts of her body. She also said she thought that perhaps her boyfriend had joined her in bed. She said she later woke up and discovered he wasn’t there and also found that the glass in a basement door had been broken. That’s when she called 911.

The 911 call was played for the jury Tuesday. The woman was distraught and cried throughout most of the call to the dispatcher. She said she thought her boyfriend had shown up to “sexually surprise” her.

Woodrow asked if her boyfriend of two months had ever shown up in the middle of the night like that before. She said no. He had other questions about the middle-of-the-night encounter:

Woodrow: Did the person talk to you?

Victim: No, they did not.

Woodrow: Did you say anything?

Victim: Not that I recall.

Woodrow: Did you open your eyes to see who the person was?

Victim: No, I did not.

Woodrow: Did you look for your boyfriend?

Victim: Not that I recall.

Woodrow: Did you call out for him?

Victim: Not that I recall.

Deputy prosecuting attorney Winder, during redirection, asked if the woman had participated, reciprocated or had helped remove her clothes during the night.

“No, I did not,” she said.