After a three-month trial, closing arguments began on Thursday in the case against Arian Eteghaei, 23, a former UC Santa Barbara student accused of sexually assaulting five women and battery against a sixth woman.

He faces 17 counts in connection with the alleged assaults, including forcible rape, attempted rape, forcible sexual penetration by foreign object, forcible oral copulation, false imprisonment by violence, and battery.

Multiple women identified as victims, who are referenced anonymously as Jane Does in court, have testified against him since the trial started in September.

Deputy District Attorney Lauren Franco began her closing arguments by reminding the jury of each of the victims and their testimonies. 

“At the beginning of this trial, I told you the evidence would show that the defendant is someone that does not take no for an answer,” Franco said, “and that’s exactly what the evidence did show.”

Andrew Flier, one of Eteghaei’s attorneys, argued that Eteghaei never confessed to any of the crimes in text messages or in interviews with law enforcement. He also said Eteghaei had a reasonable consent in all of his interactions with the women, and whenever someone did tell him no, he stopped wherever he was doing.

“He likes to seduce women,” Flier said. “He likes to be with a lot of women. That’s what he does, but that is not a crime.”

Flier also argued that the prosecution has no DNA evidence, no Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) examinations were done, and no one had torn clothing, called for help, ran out of a room calling for help, or called 9-1-1. 

Counts one through six are related to Jane Doe H.O.C., Eteghaei’s ex-girlfriend, and allege that Eteghaei forcibly raped her, forcibly sexually penetrated her with a foreign object, forced her to orally copulate him, forcefully orally copulated her, false imprisonment by violence, and that he committed battery against her on the night of June 7, 2021.

Franco reminded that jury that Doe H.O.C. testified that after she found proof of him cheating on her, he stopped her from leaving by grabbing her arm and hair, pulled her onto the bed and told her he “wanted to make her feel better.”

Additionally, Doe H.O.C. testified that she told him she didn’t want to sleep with him because he might have a sexually transmitted disease, but he told her it didn’t matter because they already slept with each other after he slept with someone else. 

The jury was shown texts between Doe H.O.C. and Eteghaei after the alleged assault in which he told her, “If you say certain things, I’m probably going to get f***ed” and would have his “future ruined.”

Flier argued that the text messages between Doe H.O.C. and Eteghaei focused on the fact that he cheated on her, not the alleged assault, with Doe H.O.C. asking why he cheated and asking about the other woman.

“He’s not proud of it, but he cheated on her,” Flier said. “She had a broken heart, he broke her and she’s had enough of him and finally she said ‘F’ you and she got payback.”

Additionally, he reminded the jury that Doe H.O.C. and Eteghaei met up two days after the alleged assault and had a sexual encounter in her car at Goleta Pier. 

“Why would anyone want to be alone in a secluded setting with the person that raped her?” Flier said.

Count seven is forcible penetration in connection to Jane Doe N.S., who testified that he convinced her to get into her bed with him after she repeatedly said she didn’t want to, and that he sexually assaulted her after she told him she didn’t want to do anything with him. 

Doe N.S. testified that she “kept saying no.” 

“The defendant knew Jane Doe N.S. didn’t consent,” Franco said. “She couldn’t have been more clear. He just didn’t care.”

Flier argued that Doe N.S.’s story changed throughout the investigation, including that she didn’t admit to investigators for almost four years that she got in bed with him and that she originally told people that Eteghaei just “tried” to touch her private area.

Counts eight and nine are forcible oral copulation and attempted forcible rape against Jane Doe M.L., who testified that Eteghaei assaulted her in November 2020 when she was visiting a friend in Isla Vista. 

Franco explained that according to her testimony, Eteghaei pushed her head down to his genitals and that she tried to turn her head to stop it, but he had a hand tightly held against the back of her head. 

When she was able to get away, she told him, “I don’t want to do this.” That was after the two made out in a bathroom earlier in the night and she told him she didn’t want to do anything else with him.

“What more does she need to do? Make a sign?” Franco asked. 

According to Doe M.L.’s testimony, Eteghaei then moved her and attempted to rape her before going back to the room of her friend, Jane Doe C.S. 

Flier argued that she never told him no or told him to stop when he was orally copulating her, only when she was orally copulating him. 

“What does Arian always do when there’s an affirmative no? He stopped,” Flier said. 

He also noted that Doe M.L. didn’t do or say anything to warn her friend when Eteghaei went to her room. 

Counts 10 to 13 are connected to Jane Doe K.L., who was best friends with Doe H.O.C and alleges that Eteghaei forcibly raped her, forced her to orally copulate him, false imprisonment by violence, and assaulted her by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury in March 2021.

The jury was shown photos of Doe K.L. with bruises on her neck and around her collarbone. The jury also saw Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office body cam footage where Doe K.L. told an officer giving her a ticket in Isla Vista that Eteghaei raped her. 

Flier argued that when Doe H.O.C. confronted her about this, Doe K.L. said she was talking about a guy from high school, not Eteghaei. 

Franco argued it was a “reasonable lie” because she wasn’t ready to confront Doe H.O.C and Eteghaei about the assault. 

Flier also showed the jury photos of Doe K.L., Doe H.O.C. and Eteghaei hanging out two weeks after the alleged assault, and a photo of Doe K.L. posted on Instagram the day after the alleged assault where she had no visible injuries or bruises. 

Count 14 is a misdemeanor battery charge related to an incident with Jane Doe K.S. in which she alleges Eteghaei shoved her onto a bed and tried to take her pants off before she was able to push him off and leave in May 2021, the day after Doe K.L. alleges she was assaulted. 

Counts 15 to 17 are connected to Jane Doe M.E., who alleges Eteghaei forcible raped her, false imprisonment by violence, and assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury on May 28, 2021. 

The jury was shown photos of her wrists and arms covered in bruises, and Franco explained that she sought medical care after the alleged assault because she thought her wrist might be broken. 

Franco said Doe M.E. testified that Eteghaei assaulted her in her room in Isla Vista after they had sex at his apartment. On the walk to her apartment, she allegedly told him that she regretted having sex with him and she didn’t want to do it “ever again.”

Flier argued that when she got medical attention, a doctor advised her to get a SART exam, but she didn’t. He also read messages from Doe M.E. to Eteghaei in which she told him she didn’t want to see him go to jail and she thought he was a nice person after the alleged assault.

The jury of two women and 10 men are expected to be in deliberations starting Monday and could continue through next Friday.