Jury acquits Pasco woman in violent attack on man

A Pasco woman was acquitted Monday of allegations she tried to rip off a man’s genitals during a violent attack.

The Franklin County jury returned the not-guilty verdict for Lisa Y. Sosa.

Sosa, 45, had been charged in Superior Court with second-degree assault with domestic violence for the November 2014 incident.

Defense attorney Ryan Swinburnson said his client testified that she acted in self-defense.

However, after a brief conversation with the 12 jurors following the verdict, Swinburnson believes they voted for an acquittal because they had an issue with what evidence was not admitted in trial that might have supported a conviction.

Prosecutors alleged Sosa hit the man with her fists and wire coat hangers, bit him and took a firm grasp of his testicles and pulled hard enough that the scrotum began to physically tear from his body.

The man told Pasco police he was on the verge of losing consciousness when he was able to free himself and run for about two miles in 10-degree temperatures.

He eventually stopped at a stranger’s house with minimal clothing and no shoes. He had to get stitches for his injury.

Sosa had no criminal history before this case. She was no longer in custody, but had spent 189 days in jail, her attorney said.

Swinburnson said he made a request under state law that allows for expenses, legal fees and time loss after an acquittal on an assault. The jury quickly decided they would not allow reimbursement of those costs, he said.

This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Jury acquits Pasco woman in violent attack on man."