CINCINNATI — An alleged victim of a former Cincinnati ICE officer trembled and wiped tears from her eyes on Thursday as she testified about her "scary" encounters with Andrew Golobic, a veteran deportation officer who supervised her in a government immigration program.
"I thought he really liked me," the Honduran woman didn't speak English so she testified through a translator. "But it turned into something else, something ugly."
According to a federal indictment, Golobic, 52, kidnapped and sexually abused her and another woman, who also testified against Golobic.
Golobic — an ICE officer from 2006- 2020 — insists the sex was consensual.
Both women were required to report to Golobic through the Alternative to Detention (ATD) program, according to prosecutors.
Golobic also tampered with witnesses and destroyed evidence including communications with his alleged victims, according to the indictment.
The Honduran woman testified that she and her son crossed the southern U.S.border in December 2016.
"I was fleeing from my husband," she testified. "My husband used to abuse me, a lot."
She wanted asylum in America.
After being detained by ICE near the southern U.S. border, she said she and her son moved to Cincinnati, where her sister lived with her husband.
ICE required her to report to the ICE office in Blue Ash in 2017.
Golobic — her supervising ICE officer — had the authority to increase or decrease her level of supervision, according to a Jason Kacar, an ICE supervisor in the Columbus office who testified on Wednesday for the prosecution.
Kacar said deportation officers could also decide where she could travel and how often she had to report to him.
The Honduran woman testified that she brought her new cellphone to Golobic, who installed the apps that enabled ICE to monitor her.
Golobic flirted with her, she testified, and before she got in her car to drive home he had texted her from his personal cell phone.
"Hello, pretty," she claimed he texted her. "I'm Andy, the officer. We talked a minute ago."
She testified that Golobic pursued her.
They exchanged text messages and photos.
She took selfies with Golobic on their first two dates.
And, she said she told him about her "horrible" relationship with her ex-husband.
"I was shaking," she told the jury. "He told me, 'don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you.'"
On their second date they walked on the Roebling Bridge.
He kissed her.
"I told him that I didn't want him to kiss me," she testified. "He put his hand in my blouse and I told him I didn't want that. I told him to take me home."
On their next date, he drove her to his house.
She told the jury that she didn't know they were going there until he parked in front of it.
He said he was going to fix her dinner, she testified.
Once inside, she began shaking again.
"He says 'stop shaking''" she testified. "We Americans are not bad."
She said he grabbed her hand and they went upstairs to a bedroom.
"My hands were wet with sweat," she testified. "I was scared."
Golobic took off his clothes.
She testified that he removed her blouse.
"He grabbed my legs," she testified. "He said, 'stop shaking.'"
According to the grand jury transcript introduced at trial, Golobic told her he wanted to marry her and move to Costa Rica after she got her green card.
The woman said she asked Golobic to wear a condom, but he refused.
She testified that they had sex.
It was fast and painful, according to her testimony.
Then, according to the woman, Golobic wanted to perform a different sex act.
She said she told him she didn't want to.
But he did it anyway.
"He told me 'you can't tell anybody about this,'" she testified.
After that, she told the jury, they met two more times and had sex.
A court-appointed translator assisted her by translating attorneys' questions into Spanish.
After the witness answered in Spanish, the translator shared her responses in English.
At times during her testimony, the Honduran woman didn't understand questions, appeared confused and made statements that seemed to contradict her previous testimony.
It wasn't clear if the translation process contributed to that.
"I have forgotten a lot of things maybe because of the stress," she testified.
During opening arguments on Monday, Golobic's defense attorney Angela Glazer portrayed the woman as a spurned lover.
"He (Golobic) kind of ghosted her," Glazer told the jury. "So, yeah. She's upset."
The Honduran woman's eyes were swollen and pink Thursday afternoon as she left the courtroom after several hours of emotional testimony.
She met a half-dozen people in the hallway next to the courtroom.
"It's over," a woman told her as she gently hugged the Honduran woman.
The witness was quiet.
Tears streamed down her face
The trial is expected to continue into next week.
