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JERREY ROBERTS

David Fried Oppenheim, right, and his attorney David Hoose wait for his trial to begin Monday in Hampshire Superior Court. The jury began deliberating Friday on the five counts of statutory rape which Fried Oppenheim has denied.

NORTHAMPTON - The question of whether David Fried Oppenheim is an innocent man, or a predator who groomed and then raped a 14-year-old student intern at the Pioneer Arts Center of Easthampton, now rests with a jury.

Fried Oppenheim, 38, of Easthampton, has pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to five counts of statutory rape.

After closing arguments Friday, the jury deliberated for about three hours before being sent home for the weekend, with instructions from Judge Mary-Lou Rup to avoid all publicity about the case. The jury is scheduled to resume deliberations Monday morning.

In closing arguments Friday, defense attorney David Hoose attacked the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses, details they testified about and asked the jury to consider whether the prosecution had adequately proved its case.

"Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is the last refuge of an innocent man," he said.

He called allegations against Fried Oppenheim "Kafka-esque." Testimony from prosecution witnesses was vague on times and places the alleged abuses occurred, and "preposterous" with regard to the number of sexual encounters the alleged victim and one of the prosecution witnesses claim occurred, Hoose said. He said PACE was too busy a place for that.

Hoose said Fried Oppenheim and his wife, Sonia, spent so much time together at PACE and at home that it is highly unlikely anything could have occurred the way the prosecution alleged.

"Nobody has a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year alibi, unless your name is Barack Obama," Hoose told the jury.

Hoose disputed an alleged telephone conversation between Fried Oppenheim and prosecution witness Carissa Dagenais, 21, of Chicopee, who testified that Fried Oppenheim said his life would be ruined and his family destroyed if she went to the police.

Hoose also disputed computer instant message transcripts containing Fried Oppenheim's supposed confession, saying that no effort was made to authenticate them. During his testimony, Fried Oppenheim denied sending those messages.

Hoose said journals described as part of the "primitives" acting technique created by Fried Oppenheim in which he instructed students to write down their emotional reactions to outside stimuli like being touched, where never introduced as evidence. Hoose argued that if his client had been engaging in sex with students, he wouldn't have encouraged them to keep journals.

Throughout her time at PACE, the alleged victim never gave any outward appearance that anything was wrong while allegedly being repeatedly raped by Fried Oppenheim, Hoose said.

"If she's that good of an actress, she is certainly a good enough actress to come here and fool you," Hoose told the jury.

Hoose characterized former PACE performers who testified as a group of "unstable" people who were drawn to the theater because of their emotional baggage.

"All we have here are actresses," Hoose said.

Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Linda Pisano told the jury the commonwealth had presented ample evidence to prove its case.

"Proof beyond reasonable doubt is not proof beyond all doubt," she said.

She also disputed the defense contention that the alleged victim claimed she was raped to get attention from her boyfriend.

Pisano offered up a timeline for the jury that she said established a pattern of behavior from Fried Oppenheim, from the early days of PACE up through the time of his arrest, in which he pursued and abused some of the young women under his instruction.

She said that Fried Oppenheim established friendly relationships with the alleged victim's parents as part of his scheme to remain on their good side while the alleged rapes were happening.

Pisano also noted that the alleged victim's mother testified she had arrived to pick her daughter up to find the theater locked with its lights out and Fried Oppenheim the only other person there, countering testimony that he was never left alone with the girl.

She reminded jurors of testimony from Marit Bjerkadal, a former student who said Fried Oppenheim told them they could pay off their PACE dues with sexual favors.

Fried Oppenheim testified that he was suffering from a high fever, lung infection and dehydration when he made that comment, which was meant as a joke. He said he later apologized for the comment.

Pisano characterized the notion that illness and a fever was a factor in that incident as "ludicrous."

She also refuted claims that the witnesses were "troubled" individuals, noting that they had all gone on to prestigious schools and hold down professional jobs. She noted, the Fried Oppenheims alleged Dagenais to babysit their infant son.

"You decide if (the alleged victim) was acting," Pisano told the jury.

"This man," Pisano said, pointing at Fried Oppenheim, "raped (the alleged victim)."

Cross-examination

Friday's court session began with Pisano's cross-examination of Fried Oppenheim, who had been questioned by Hoose Thursday.

Fried Oppenheim denied having sexual relationships with any of the witnesses and also disputed claims that he gave private acting lessons or used his "primitives" technique as a prelude to sex.

Upon questioning from Pisano, he said he did provide extra coaching for actors who seemed to need it, but those sessions were often done with others around. It was one of those coaching sessions that Fried Oppenheim provided to Stanford that was an inspiration for "primitives," he told the jury.

Stanford was not giving any emotional weight to her lines, Fried Oppenheim told the court, and only after she delivered lines while in tears was he satisfied that she was giving a better performance.

Pisano asked Fried Oppenheim if he was suggesting that the PACE students and the alleged victim made the allegations because they were upset about a falling out between himself and PACE's former music director, to which he answered "no."

Friends, family, and supporters of both Fried Oppenheim and the alleged victim packed the courtroom. Just before closing arguments began, Fried Oppenheim, dressed in a wine-colored shirt and gray pants, kissed his wife's hand and said "I love you," before returning to the table with his defense team.