Man convicted of sex crimes attacked by victim’s family in Fresno County court
A Kingsburg man convicted of sexual assault charges was attacked in court Tuesday by family members of a teenage victim in the case.
Caught by surprise, defendant Brandon William Howard, 20, covered his head as the mother, her husband and one of their sons tried to hit him. One blow did appear to land on the back of Howard’s head, but he was not seriously injured.
Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies quickly quelled the melee as they pushed the family out of the courtroom.
The mother screamed loudly as she was being escorted out, “you raped my son.”
Howard pleaded no contest to three felony counts of sexual assault, including two counts of oral copulation with a person under 18 and a charge of sexual penetration with a foreign object of a person under 16.
Howard was expected to be sentenced Tuesday by Judge Jonathan Skiles but he ordered the defendant to undergo an evaluation by a psychiatrist prior to sentencing.
The victim’s mother, who asked that her name be withheld in order to protect her son’s identity, said outside of the courthouse that she couldn’t take any more delays in the case.
“Everything just builds up and up,” she said, still appearing shaken after being put in handcuffs by deputies. “We have been dealing with this for a whole year and today was supposed to be the end. We were going to read our victim impact letters and close this out. But that didn’t happen. And then everything just went black.”
The mother said she was also upset that there is a possibility that Howard may not serve any prison time.
According to the criminal complaint, the assaults were alleged to have happened in Kingsburg between March 1, 2021 and Nov. 1, 2021.
“He hurt my child and he is not going to get any jail time,” she said. “My child has lost his freedom and Brandon Howard is walking around free to do what he wants and I think it is horrible.”
She added that the attack on Howard wasn’t planned, it just happened.
“We are good people, we did not hunt him down when all this happened, we didn’t go knock on his door and drag him out of the house,” she said. “We just want the courts to do their job.”
The mother said she and her family members were charged with simple battery and released.
“I have been dealing with this for a whole year, being there for my son,” she said as she began to cry. “I guess I forgot to get myself some help.”
Howard’s new sentencing date is Sept. 15 in Dept. 34. Judge Skiles, however, is not allowing any of the accuser’s family members who where involved in the incident to be present.
