Medical Issue Could Delay Trial For Former Livermore Officer In Sexual Exploitation Case

A judge said Wednesday that the trial of former Livermore police Officer Daniel Black for his alleged involvement with the teenage daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher could be delayed because a key witness in the case has had a medical emergency. However, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Alison Tucher didn't specify which witness is experiencing medical issues.

Black, 49, faces five misdemeanor charges: two counts of engaging in prostitution, two counts of performing lewd acts and one count of giving alcohol to a person under 21. Black is one of six East Bay police officers who have been charged with felonies or misdemeanors in Alameda County as a result of the sexual
exploitation scandal involving the teenage girl, who worked as a prostitute and is now seeking a total of more than $100 million in damages from multiple jurisdictions.

The teen, who is now 19, is identified in court papers only as Jane Doe. Four of the officers who've been charged worked for the Oakland Police Department. Tucher, prosecutor Sabrina Farrell and defense attorney Michael Cardoza have spent the last two days selecting jurors for Black's trial and the main panel of 12 jurors was selected by early this afternoon.

However, the judge and the lawyers haven't finished selecting a handful of alternate jurors for the case. Tucher tentatively scheduled jury selection to resume at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday but told prospective jurors that the process could be delayed until March if the unnamed "important witness" continues to have medical issues.

Tucher told jurors that her staff will let them know by noon on Thursday if they should report at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday or not until sometime in March. If jury selection resumes Thursday afternoon the attorneys might
give their opening statements later in the day and testimony could begin on Friday. Alameda County District

Attorney Inspector Jim Taranto wrote in a probable cause statement that last April 8 and 13 Black arranged to pick up Jane Doe near her home in his motorhome, taking her to dinner at a Berkeley restaurant on April 8 and to an Albany restaurant on April 13.

Taranto stated that when the conversation at the Berkeley restaurant turned sexual, Black said, "Just to be clear, I'm not paying you, but I will buy you dinner."

Black and the teen later engaged in oral copulation in the motorhome in a parking lot visible from the street, sexual intercourse the next morning at the same location, and Black gave her alcoholic drinks inside the vehicle, according to prosecutors.

Taranto said Black allegedly paid for their dinner at the Albany restaurant and then parked the motorhome in Berkeley in an industrial area near the waterfront, where the two engaged in oral copulation.

Judge Tucher indicated today that the Berkeley restaurant where Black allegedly took the teenager was the well-known seafood restaurant Spenger's Fresh Fish Grotto at 1919 Fourth St., as she asked prospective
jurors if they were familiar with the restaurant and if that were the case if it would affect their decision in the trial.

Apparently referring to the teenage woman, Farrell asked potential jurors if they would have any "issues" hearing testimony from someone who has admitted that she exchanged sex for money. They said they would not. Cardoza told prospective jurors that he wanted them to promise not to hold a police officer to a higher standard that they would an average person who was charged with similar crimes.

Referring to Black, Cardoza said, "You have to be fair to this guy."

Retired Oakland police Sgt. Leroy Johnson, 51, pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of failing to report child abuse and was sentenced on Jan. 13 to three years' misdemeanor court probation. Prosecutors said Johnson failed to report suspected child abuse in September 2015 after the teenager told him in a Facebook message that she had engaged in sex with other Oakland officers. Taranto said in a probable cause statement, "Johnson was a mandatory reporter of child sex abuse and failed to report this allegation disclosed to him by Doe."

Taranto said Johnson was a family friend of the teenager and her mother.

By Bay City News

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