SANTA MARIA – The defense attorney for 18 year old Shane Villalpando urged the judge to subpoena Facebook records involving his alleged victim as potential evidence in the case against him.
The prosecution argued against releasing the records calling it a "fishing expedition" that violates the alleged victim's privacy and free speech.
"There is no establishment of probable cause here", argued Deputy District Attorney Brandon Jebbens, "the defense has failed to establish a relevancy or even a reasonable suspicion that this may be necessary, other than the fact that young people talk on Facebook."
Jebbens also told the court Facebook has said it's under no legal obligation to release the records under the Federal Communications Act.
Even if the company does comply, Jebbens says it's impossible to know how many pages will need to be printed and duplicated, who's going to pay for it and how long it will take.
Judge Edward Bullard ruled the Facebook records could be subpoenaed, starting from 30 days before and ending 30 days after the alleged sexual assaults took place in January and February.
The judge is also asking to see the alleged victim's diary.
Villalpando, who's also accused of sexually assaulting another female student at Righetti High School, remains free on $300,000 bail.
His case returns to Santa Maria court on October 25.
