At around 4:00 p.m., the court declared a mistrial in the case of Christopher Rodriguez due to a hung jury. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict after deliberation.

[Related: Judge declares mistrial after hung jury in trial of former UCLA child care teacher]

Around 1:30 p.m. on Friday, the jury began deliberating to reach a verdict.

Closing arguments began Friday morning around 9 a.m., with both parties reviewing their evidence before the jury one last time.

Evelyn Pineda-Dugay, who worked at UCLA ECE for 23 years, said on Friday that Rodriguez taught both of her children and is “one of the most joyous people” she knows. She described him as very calm and gentle, often hosting potlucks for their colleagues.

She said it’s been five years since she has worked with Rodriguez and he last taught her two children in 2009 and 2014. As a mandated reporter, she said if she saw someone do something to a child, it would be her duty to report it.

Alma Lopez, who worked for the UCLA ECE Krieger Center for 17 years and spent two years working in the same classroom as Rodriguez, was called to the stand. In her time working with him, she said she has never seen him engage in inappropriate conduct with a student. When asked if she complained about Rodriguez to the director prior to being switched to a different classroom, she said she had not. Lopez described Rodriguez as someone who “made you feel a part of the group,” and said that although she had issues with him, she “always worked them out.”

The defense presented images including one email from Child A’s mother to Mary Freund as well as four photos from visits to the school featuring a blue stick, the bathrooms and the loft structure on which children play.

During Child B’s forensic interview, they had difficulty remembering the names and appearances of their teachers but said the teachers do wear gloves while helping children in the bathroom. They said they never had any “boy teachers” and that their “butt” did hurt but not right now.

In their interview, Child A said they understand that Rodriguez left work because he did something wrong. They detailed their experience being laid upon by Rodriguez during naptime as well as his touching of their private parts on five occasions on the same day. They said that, unlike other teachers, Rodriguez did not wear gloves while accompanying them in the bathroom and that they told him to stop because it felt “not nice.”

Jennifer Abrams Waxler, attorney for The People of the State of California, showed recordings of Child A’s, Child B’s and Child C’s individual forensic interviews at Stuart House – the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s center for child sexual abuse treatment – which took place Jan. 24, Mar. 7 and Jun. 13, respectively.

Another teacher at the Krieger Center who worked with Rodriguez beginning December 1, 2024, said Child A approached her while crying and without the leggings she wore in the morning. The teacher said the student told her she had an accident and Rodriguez helped her, but would not talk about the issue further.