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Martinez · Courts · Wed Sep 30 · Updated Fri Oct 2, 3:54 PM

Official · open the full fact check

Juries convict former airline co-pilot and Walnut Creek woman in child abuse case

File photograph of Contra Costa County Courthouse; it does not depict the reported event.
File photograph of Contra Costa County Courthouse; it does not depict the reported event.

What the reporting says

Rustom Bhagwagar and Jennifer Spitz Powell were each convicted by their own jury in Martinez on every charge involving the repeated sexual abuse of a girl, Contra Costa County announced. Powell, 46, was found guilty on Monday, September 28th, and Bhagwagar, 35, on Tuesday, September 29th. Both remain in custody and await sentencing.

  • Contra Costa County announced that Rustom Bhagwagar, a former commercial airline co-pilot from Florida, and Jennifer Spitz Powell, of Walnut Creek, were each found guilty of eight counts involving oral copulation or sexual penetration of a child aged 10 or younger. Each was also convicted of 12 counts of forcible lewd acts with a child under 14.
  • Powell, who is 46, was found guilty on Monday, September 28th, and Bhagwagar, who is 35, was found guilty on Tuesday, September 29th. The case was heard in Martinez before Judge Danielle Douglas. The county said the court used a rare dual-jury format, so each jury heard only the evidence that applied to its own defendant.
  • Evidence shown to the juries indicated the abuse began when the victim was 7 years old and continued from about October 17th, 2017, to October 16th, 2022. The District Attorney's Office said it will not name the victim, because of her age and the nature of the crimes, to protect her identity.

Read it at Contra Costa County

The full fact check2 outlets · Official
Official

The agency’s own words

An official release is the record itself: it is not graded, and newsroom stories are checked against it.

Checked Thu Oct 1, 2:09 PM · 1 of 2 pages read

Sources checked

No independent confirmation found yet.

The reporting

  1. “Juries Convict Former Airline Pilot and Co-Defendant in Child Sexual Abuse Case”Contra Costa County
  2. Wakefield Taylor Courthouse | Superior Court of California | County of Contra CostaSource photograph

coverage2 outlets

1 official1 newsroom

Only the agency's own words (no newsroom has checked it)

Contra Costa County

Official release

Official

“Juries Convict Former Airline Pilot and Co-Defendant in Child Sexual Abuse Case”

Martinez, California – Separate juries in Contra Costa Superior Court convicted Rustom Bhagwagar and Jennifer Spitz Powell on all charges related to the repeated sexual abuse of a young girl.

The opening, as Contra Costa County wrote it

0 documents linked1 quote

The agency’s own wordsContra Costa County

Contra Costa County

Martinez, California – Separate juries in Contra Costa Superior Court convicted Rustom Bhagwagar and Jennifer Spitz Powell on all charges related to the repeated sexual abuse of a young girl.

A jury found 46-year-old Powell guilty on Monday, September 28th, and a second jury found 35-year-old Bhagwagar guilty on Tuesday, September 29th. Bhagwagar, a former commercial airline co-pilot from Florida, and Powell, from Walnut Creek, were each convicted of eight counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 years old or younger and 12 counts of forcible lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14.

Due to the victim’s age and the nature of the crimes, the victim will not be named by the District Attorney’s Office to protect her identity.

The case was heard in Martinez before Judge Danielle Douglas. In a rare dual-jury format, the court tried two defendants at once while making sure each jury heard only the evidence that applied to its assigned defendant. Evidence presented to both juries showed that the sexual abuse of the victim began when she was 7 years old and occurred from on or about October 17th, 2017, to October 16th, 2022. Powell, who was in a relationship with Bhagwagar, participated with him in numerous acts of abuse against the victim.

Bhagwagar and Powell each face a maximum sentence of 230 years to life in state prison. Both remain in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility and will be sentenced by the court at a future date.

Deputy District Attorney Haleigh Parkinson of the Sexual Assault Unit prosecuted the case with support from a trial team that included legal assistants, a victim advocate, and victim support staff.

District Attorney Diana Becton said:

“This young survivor showed extraordinary courage by testifying in court and facing the people who used duress to harm her. These verdicts hold both defendants accountable. I am grateful to our entire team for their dedication in seeking, serving, and doing justice in this case.”

Case No. 01-25-02241 | The People of the State of California v. Rustom Bhagwagar

Case No. 01-25-02242 | The People of the State of California v. Jennifer Spitz Powell

The original at Contra Costa County

Read the full story at Contra Costa County

East Bay Times

News report · Wed Sep 30, 3:18 PM

Not graded

“Delta pilot, girlfriend convicted of molesting girl together in Contra Costa”

Not graded · this link goes through Google News, which asks programs not to open it

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    Sources1 records
    1. Official releaseContra Costa CountyRead