Part of suspect’s statement allowed
Jurors in the upcoming criminal trial of a 66-year-old soccer coach, accused of sexually assaulting six boys, will hear damaging statements that he made to police, a judge ruled yesterday.
However Circuit Judge Michael Wilson, in a written decision, said he will not allow some other incriminating statements Frederick Rames made to detectives to be used in Rames' September trial.
Rames is charged with nine counts of third-degree sexual assault, three counts of witness tampering and two counts of first-degree sexual assault involving oral sex.
A foster parent and elementary school substitute teacher, Rames allegedly sexually assaulted boys from age 7 to 12.
"We feel good about the decision," William Harrison, Rames' lawyer, said. "It's a well-reasoned decision."
"What remains for the jury's review is not damning," he said.
The city prosecutor's office did not comment on the decision.
The judge allowed statements Rames made when he was trying to exonerate himself although he told police twice that his attorney advised him not to talk.
The judge is allowing the first 29 pages of the interview transcript to be allowed into evidence. In those statements, Rames said he allowed boys, whom he coached, to sleep with him in his bed at his Wahiawa home several times.
He said he touched their genitals while bathing them and while helping them to urinate in the middle of the night.
On Page 27, when asked whether he taught the boys to masturbate, he replied, "As far as I'm concerned, they should know how to masturbate, because it's safer that way than going after somebody."
But Wilson said he would not allow statements that were made after Rames indicated he might want to talk to his lawyer.
On Page 30 of the transcript, Rames told Detective Phillip Lavarias, "I don't know, I'm getting to the point, maybe I should be talking to my lawyer, but I don't know."
The judge said Lavarias should have then clarified whether Rames wanted his attorney, but the detective instead continued to question him.
In one of the statements disallowed for trial, Rames acknowledges masturbating boys, according to the transcript. "They wanted to know, so I'd show 'em so," he is quoted as saying.