Sex crime, particularly in the context of internet dating, is a serious offense. Instances where individuals, often after consuming alcohol, engage in sexual activity and one party later claims lack of consent, are not uncommon. This can lead to severe legal consequences.
When it comes to this particular sex crime charge, rape is covered under California Penal Code 261. The prosecutors and judge will take it with the utmost seriousness in Los Angeles County. They will assign a special sex crime prosecutor no matter which courthouse the case is pending. Each branch in Los Angeles County has its own special sex crime prosecutor who deals with these types of cases.
She goes to the police. They have her get a SART exam, which a nurse checks out. They run a bunch of tests on her, and now, all of a sudden, a person is getting investigated for having sex with an unconscious person (CALCRIM 1003).
She's claiming that she doesn't remember having sex with an individual but feels that sex did occur. Now, the police are going to the person and asking him questions, putting him in a challenging position because if you had consensual sex with the person, there's nothing wrong with that. Still, if she's saying that it wasn't consensual and you admit to having sex with the woman, then you've already proved 50% of the case for the prosecutors.
Key Factor of Consensual Sex
Now, the only question is going to be whether it was consensual, whether or not, under the circumstances, the person couldn't consent to having sex with you. This is a prevalent thing I'm seeing increasingly in today's society.
People are hooking up and not actually dating for an extended period and then making a decision as to whether or not to have sex. So, you have to decide whether or not you want to talk to the police and make a statement in these situations.
I usually suggest that you don't because the police are not aimed at proving you not guilty. They're aimed at proving you guilty. Why would you hand them something and give them information? They may characterize what you have to say.
They may put you in a position where you say something you don't want to tell if you have spoken to an attorney and discussed the case with him.
So, a case for the crime of having sex with an unconscious person is tough to defend, so you want to make sure to protect yourself and get a defense attorney right away and let that attorney discuss with you some of the common defenses, some of the common tactics that the prosecutors take in these cases so you can have the most successful result.
Police Investigation Tactics
One big thing that I see law enforcement doing is having the alleged victim call the person and try to get the person to admit that they did something wrong, and it's usually something along the lines of, you did something terrible to me. I would have never done that, and then the person feels awful.
They don't want the other party to be angry with them, so they say they're sorry, even if they didn't do anything wrong or criminal. But if you're saying sorry in the fact of somebody telling you that you had non-consensual sex with them, you've now given the second part to the prosecutors.
This means now you've admitted doing something wrong. And if you accept having sex with them, you put yourself in a challenging position.
Prefiling Intervention in Sex Crime Cases
So, if you're being investigated for a sex crime — and I do a lot of these prefiling cases, especially where someone's claiming they were unconscious, meaning they were too drunk.
We think of the unconscious as someone just passed out, but someone could just be too drunk, have taken drugs, alcohol, or all sorts of things, and not be in a position to consent or not consent. You end up having sex with them.
What about the defense that you were drunk as well, and you both were not in a position to make an informed decision of having sex, but you both ended up having sex with them?
So, you have to sit down with an attorney. Don't give the police anything. Don't give the prosecutors anything. Don't answer any calls. Don't answer any questions. I get you right in. We start talking about it. I put my 26 years of experience to work for you so you can end up with the best possible result.
Related Content:
