Many sex crimes are premised on some intoxication charge related to drugs or alcohol.  Someone meets another person, they both drink alcohol, they use drugs, and the woman ends up having sex with the man.

They wake up the following day, and all of a sudden, the man is being charged with a sex crime, such as California Penal Code 261 PC rape, because the woman indicates they would never have sex under those circumstances.

For example, they just met the person, and they must have either drunk too much or were drugged somehow, and now the man is getting text messages accusing him of things. He's getting phone calls where the police are listening on the other line — called a pretext call — accusing him of certain things, and depending on what the man says, that can put him in a world of hurt.

That can put him in a position where he now has to defend a sex crime, and he's got the prosecutors and police claiming that he admitted it.  He said he was sorry on a pretext phone call, text, or whatever the case may be.

So, if you find yourself in that unenviable position, pick up the phone now.  Ask for a meeting with somebody like me who's been doing this for 30 years — defending people just like you.

I've seen the situation like I've described countless times, see what cases the person is in big trouble, and see what cases the police or prosecutors are being over-zealous. Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers will review this topic more below.

Can People Consent to Sex After Consuming A Lot of Alcohol?

Just because someone has consumed alcohol or drugs does not mean they can't legally consent to sex. However, if people are hooking up for sexual activity while one of both is drunk, many potential issues can occur. For instance, if you go on a dating app, meet someone and have sex with them on the first date, but then never call them, the other person often wonders what happened.

Then, thoughts start going through their head like, “wait, why did you have sex with them so fast?  Did he get me drunk and force himself on me?” Quickly, the date turned into a potential legal issue because of meeting someone for the first time and alcohol, or drugs were involved.

In other words, you are running the risk that you're going to get accused of something. If you're going to go on dates from dating app and engage in sex on the first date after consuming alcohol, you are placing yourself in a position where somebody might make claims to break the law.

In today's age, you must be careful. Sex crime allegations are serious and potentially life-changing. If you are in a situation where the other party is accusing you of doing something illegal, or if they ask you about whether you had sex with them last night, then this means they were too intoxicated even to remember. This is dangerous territory and a giant red flag.

That person could soon accuse you of a serious sex crime, and you need to protect yourself by hiring a criminal defense lawyer who can act as a buffer between you and police detectives. Stop all communication with your potential accuser as you might incriminate yourself.

I you're being investigated or concerned that you may be accused of sexual assault, then pick up the phone and call me. I will do everything possible to avoid a criminal filing by speaking with the prosecutor.

Fight the Allegations or Negotiate the Case?

One of the first things we have to decide is whether or not you're going to fight the case or whether or not you're going to try to negotiate the case.  Of course, that's going to depend a lot on you.

It's going to depend a lot on the evidence that they have, and of course, we're going to use my experience, having done these cases time and time again, to help you make the decision.  We have to sit down and go over everything, see what evidence the prosecutors have, see what evidence we can bring to bear, and then we've got to assess and think about whether or not we can win the case.

If we can't win the case and we determine it's in your best interest to negotiate, now you've got to have an attorney like me who's been doing this a long time, had a lot of success, dealt with the prosecutors you're up against, dealt with the judge that we're facing, then I know what type of moves need to be made, who needs to be talked to and what kind of strategy we need to take.

So, if you or a loved one is charged with a sex crime and you need an attorney immediately, and you're in a position where someone is claiming that they were intoxicated to give consent, we need to review the details.

In other words, they were too drunk, too high, too out of it, to consent to have sex with you, and you're indicating, they consented, they were kissing me. I was drunk too.  I was taking drugs too.  Whatever the case may be.

Reviewing the Details to Determine Best Defense Strategy

We've got to sit down and evaluate whether or not that defense will work because you don't want to proceed down the road of defense and tell the prosecutors to pound sand if, ultimately, you're going to end up working a deal out.

That might not be the right strategy because that will anger the prosecutors.  That's going to put them in an offensive mode and say, look, if your client is not going to cooperate with us and want to fight us, then we're going to seek prison.  We're going to seek lifetime sex registration, and we're going to seek the worst possible punishment that we can find.

So, you have to make the right decisions at the right time.  You've come to the right place.  Pick up the phone.  Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding if you're being charged with some sex offense where the other party was drunk.

They were intoxicated, using drugs, and now claiming they were unconscious, and you took advantage of them in that position; you need someone who will fight for you.  You need someone who's been down this road before and had success.

Pick up the phone ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding.  Let me put my 30 years of experience to work for you. Hedding Law Firm is located in Los Angeles County and offers a free case review.