I don't think there really is a common sex crime. There's just common activities where people are touching other people or trying to have sex with people against their will. It's probably the general conduct that you see most of. But our firm handles all types of sex crimes. A lot of what we're seeing is sexual batteries — California Penal Code Section 288 where somebody's touching a minor under the age of 18, I see a lot of sex cases where people are agreeing to have sex but one party is obviously under age and then the issue becomes, should the party that's over the age of 18, do they know or should they reasonably know based on the circumstances that that person is under the age of 18, in which case they can obviously be successfully prosecuted for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, which is another common case that we see all the time.
Alcohol or Drugs Involved
In the LA criminal courts, a lot of rape cases are being filed and a lot of it seems to center around people who are either drinking or using some sort of drugs and then the next thing you know, they wake up and somehow, they think that someone has taken advantage of them or raped them. So, you've got a lot of date-rape cases that are occurring — alcohol is involved, drugs are involved.
Also, we do see a lot of relatives inappropriately touching or having intercourse with their family members and then these charges are filed. Obviously, that's a very serious situation where the person is looking at prison time. But a lot of what I'm seeing is, these cases are being filed even months or even years after the incident happens which is frustrating, obviously, because it's hard to get witnesses in those cases because so much time has passed between the alleged conduct and the present day. So, trying to piece together a defense can be difficult, but also trying to piece together a prosecution in those cases can be difficult as well.
Juvenile Sex Crimes
I've been doing this for twenty-five years and handled thousands of sex-related matters. I do a lot of juvenile sex crimes as well. So, if you've got a sex crime or a loved one of yours has a sex crime, pick up the phone and give me a call. We'll talk about it. We'll figure out your version of events because a lot of times in these sex crime cases the police are doing a one-sided investigation and they don't get all the facts and circumstances surrounding what happened and that's why they don't get any information about your potential defense.
They don't talk to all of the witnesses in a case. A lot of time, some witnesses that could be beneficial for you in a sex crime case are never even spoken to. So, we have to get out and talk to them. Get their statements through an investigator. That way we can start to put together a defense that could be successful in your sex crime case.
Child Pornography
Another common sex crime that we see and it is under the umbrella of sex crime is people looking at child pornography online. Obviously, that's handled very seriously by the prosecutors. Usually, you see the feds getting involved with that except if there's a limited amount of images then the state government will get involved with that.
So, if you've got a sex crime matter and need assistance with it in one of the Los Angeles courthouses, or even at the federal level, pick up the phone and give me a call and we can start to lay the ground work and a strategy to get you out of the criminal justice system as fast as possible.
