Father River Sims, a gay street priest who patrols Polk Street helping homeless youth, got on his knees for something other than prayer at the Hall of Justice a couple weeks back when he testified during the murder trial of a Nob Hill resident.
Four weeks into the trial of 28-year-old Waheed Kesmatyer, who was charged with murdering his gay housemate Jack Baker in 2011, the defense called Sims to the stand, where he proceeded to simulate a sex act before the court.
Sims testified that he saw the now-deceased Baker forcing teenage boys to give him blowjobs on two occasions, once in a Polk Street alley and another in Golden Gate Park. It was not enough to say it, however. So Sims knelt before Deputy Public Defender Hadi Razzaq, who pretended to be on the receiving end of this simulated sex act, for effect. Razzaq wrapped his fingers in a stern grip behind the reverend's head and demonstrated the sheer force the 67-year-old Baker used during the alleged sex acts.
Sims was certainly "an entertaining character," Assistant District Attorney Diana Garcia recalled last week in her closing arguments, dismissing the preacher and Razzaq's odd witness choice for attempted character assassination.
It would seem the unexpected sex show in court was necessary to paint Baker as an oversexualized predator prone to violence. To escape first-degree murder charges, Kesmatyer claimed he stabbed Baker to death only after the older man raped him and lunged at him with a knife.
In response, Kesmatyer stabbed Baker more than 26 times in the face and sliced his throat to near-decapitation.
But whether the faux blowjob was enough to convince the jury that this was not a gratuitous crime remains to be seen.
Update: A jury acquitted Waheed Kesmatyer of all charges Wednesday, finding him not guilty of murder and lesser charges.Showing 1-2 of 2
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