A judge has ruled that Harry Goularte, the man accused of molesting former UFC champion Cain Velasquez’s 5-year-old son, will stand trial for his alleged crime after the boy publicly implicated Goularte for the first time during a key preliminary hearing Monday.
Goularte, 44, was charged in February 2022 with one felony count of lewd acts with a minor under the age of 14 – allegedly Cain Jr. when he was 4. Goularte pleaded not guilty to the charge last June.
The decision to go to trial was made by Judge Javier Alcala after a full day in Santa Clara County (Calif.) court in which Cain Jr., his mother and Cain Sr.’s wife, Michelle Velasquez, and Goularte’s mother, Patricia Bender, testified in court. Goularte is due back in court for a trial setting March 13.
After accommodations were made by the court to clear the room of non-essential members of the public, Cain Jr. was brought in and took the stand in the late morning.
Deputy District Attorney Robert Philbrook repeatedly tried to get yes or no answers out of the boy, who was allowed to color in a Pokemon coloring book while on the stand. Cain Sr. and Michelle were in the courtroom during Cain Jr.’s testimony, but they could not help him answer questions.
Finally, after a 15-minute recess when Cain Jr. started crying, with the help of a sketch of a stick figure drawn by Philbrook, Cain Jr. said Goularte used his hand to touch him on his penis in a bathroom at Bender’s daycare.
On cross examination, Stephen DeFilippis, Goularte’s lead defense attorney, called to attention Cain Jr.’s statement to police in which he said Goularte touched him “100 times.” On the stand, Cain Jr. said he was touched two times. He also asked Cain Jr. if his parents talked to him before the day about what would happen in court and what he should say. The boy said they did.
Court went on a lunch recess after Cain Jr.’s testimony. When it resumed, Michelle took the stand. She testified about the night that Cain Jr. told her and Cain Sr. about Goularte’s alleged molestation. She said Cain Jr. “seemed ashamed” when he told her about Harry touching his “penis and scrotum.” When she asked if Goularte put Cain Jr.’s penis in his moth, she said her son answered yes. She said Cain Jr. told her that he saw Goularte go to the bathroom with two other kids from the daycare. No other alleged victims have knowingly come forward.
Also on Monday, Bender testified that Goularte on occasion was at her daycare facility when children were present, but that he did not work there in an official capacity. Bender recalled an incident at the daycare in which she said a group of children teased Goularte and called him funny names, and that Goularte played back. At one point, she said, he picked up Cain Jr. and said he’d put him in a trash can if he didn’t stop calling him names before putting him back down.
Bender said she told Cain Jr.’s parents about the incident after it happened and testified that at a subsequent Halloween party, Cain Sr. approached Goularte, picked him up and joked he would put him in a trash can.
Cain Sr., who is out on bail and awaiting his next court appearance on charges that include attempted murder after allegedly shooting at Goularte last February, was not called as a witness.
Goularte was arrested and released on bail in February 2022. Since then, modifications were made to his bail requirements, including work allowance, the ability to move out of the county, and clearance to be around minor family members.
Judge Alcala said Monday that Goularte will continue to be free under these conditions.
Days after Goularte’s release in February, Velasquez was arrested and charged with attempted murder and other gun-related charges after he allegedly used his vehicle to pursue and shoot at Goularte and his family. He was released on bail in November and has since partaken in professional wrestling events.
Velasquez is due back in court for a trial setting March 15.
