Firefighter testifies teen sex partner lied about her age
February 19, 2016
Oscar Higueros
Former Cayucos firefighter Oscar Higueros Jr. took the stand in his own trial Thursday and testified he did not know a Los Osos teen was 17 years old while he was having a sexual relationship with her. The teen said she had already turned 18, Higueros testified. [KSBY]
Higueros, 40, is standing trial for 35 charges, including several counts of forcible rape. He is also a suspect in the unsolved murder of his father, which occurred in 1990 when Higueros was 14 years old.
In July 2014, Higueros allegedly paid $150 to Richard Scott Brooks to have sex with the Los Osos girl. Brooks was recently convicted of 19 crimes related to sexual abuse of the teen, and he was sentenced to more than 60 years in prison.
On Thursday, Higueros testified that he met the girl by responding to a Craigslist ad. Higueros initially met her and Brooks at the teen’s Los Osos home. He did not bring any money, he said.
The teen later moved in with Higueros. Prosecutors allege Higueros forced her to be his sex slave.
Higueros said he viewed their living situation as a normal domestic partnership. He said he believed the teen moved into his home because she got into a fight with her mother.
The former firefighter said he did not discover the girl was 17 until she had already been living with him for multiple weeks.
However, evidence emerged in court showing the teen previously sent a text message to Higueros saying she was 17 and should still be receiving child support from her father. Higueros responded with a message saying, “Go Dad.”
Higueros testified that he did not grasp the full message because he was driving at the time, and other texts came along with that message.
The former firefighter also testified Thursday he never told anyone that he killed his father.
Earlier in the trial, the teen testified Higueros told her that he murdered his father was not afraid to kill again. The threat made her too scared to leave his home, she said.
Oscar Higueros Sr. was found stabbed to death in his Los Osos home in April 1990. Another person was previously a prime suspect in the case.
Higueros Jr. will return to the stand Friday morning.
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