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Andrew Belant

Andrew Belant has chosen to represent himself in lieu of an attorney and may cross-examine the four boys he’s accused of molesting at his trial.

“It gives him a chance to beat up on these kids and to personally ask them questions,” Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos said. “Can you imagine if you’re a victim and the person cross-examining you is the person who victimized you?”

Belant, 25, has been in the Humboldt County jail since March 1 for allegedly molesting the boys he knew through his role as a church youth leader and after-school program aide.

At a Monday hearing, Humboldt County Superior Court Judge W. Bruce Watson agreed to allow Belant act as his own attorney and advised him of “the errors and pitfalls of self-representation,” according to court minutes. Belant, who was previously represented by attorney Patrik Griego, waived his rights and requested an investigator be appointed to his case.

He declined representation from the Public Defender’s Office as well.

While it’s within everyone’s constitutional rights to represent themselves in court, it’s a unique situation and poses many issues, Gallegos said. “It could certainly result in delays, but our hope is it doesn’t,” he said.

In exercising the legal system, Belant could question the alleged victims about their lives and testimony and make inferences by doing so, Gallegos said. “The benefit to him is he can testify without testifying,” he said in speaking to Belant’s right to ask questions without being subject to cross-examination himself. “He can say and ask things as if they were evidence.”

The down side for Belant is “he’s not an attorney,” Gallegos said. “Abraham Lincoln said ‘A person who represents themselves has a fool for a client’ (and) there’s truth to that.”

Gallegos, in trying to analyze Belant’s decision-making process, said there are three possible motivations he’s operating under. “Certainly one possibility is he thinks by questioning the juveniles themselves, they will be intimidated and he will be able to benefit himself in that way,” he said. “I think if that’s his plan, it will probably backfire.”

Gallegos didn’t want to discuss his other two theories about Belant’s motives, as the defendant reads newspapers and Gallegos “doesn’t want to clue him into my thought process.”

While some people who represent themselves can be good attorneys and have skilled arguing and evidence presentation skills, they may also have ego issues, Gallegos said. “And those issues can carry over into their presentation,” he said.

Belant’s October trial has been vacated, but he’s expected to face trial sometime in November, said Gallegos, who will likely prosecute the case. Deputy District Attorney Kelly Neel, who has been handling the case, will be leaving the office for another job at the County Counsel Office, Gallegos said.

Belant, who has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of child molestation, worked in the after-school program at Lafayette Elementary School, at the Eureka First Presbyterian Church as a junior youth pastor and was a student in the teacher credential program at Humboldt State University prior to his March 1 arrest.

Many of the alleged crimes, including forced oral copulation with a child and lewd or lascivious acts, took place at Belant’s home, the alleged victims’ homes, the school site, the church and during overnight church outings. Belant was close friends with and considered part of one of the alleged victim’s family and spent the night at his home several times in summer 2007.

Some of the crimes are alleged to have occurred during those sleepovers.

Cited From:

http://eurekareporter.com/article/080925-defendant-to-represent-himself-in-molestation-case