Penal Code Section 261 et. seq. deals with Rape. This is the act of sexual intercourse where the victim was incapable of resisting due to a mental disorder, being incapacitated, drunk, under the influence of a drug, unconscious, asleep, under duress or threat and other similar circumstances. A type of rape is Statutory Rape. Here the law presumes that the victim could not have formed the requisite mindset for consent because he or she was under the age of 18, i.e. a minor. The punishment for these acts is severe.

Some of these cases involve a boyfriend and girlfriend being close in age, but one still being under 18. While others deal with one being considerably older than the one under age. The latter are the types of cases, the police are more likely to go after.

One case that illustrates this type of situation happened when a young couple took a 14 year old boy on a camping trip. During one of the evenings, all three had ingested alcohol and drugs and the 14 year old boy ended up having sex with the woman. It happened several times thereafter. This was deemed to be a statutory rape case against the woman and her husband. Because this case involved drugs and alcohol, the couple had received a felony prison sentence.

Another example involved a 44 year old man and a 15 year old girl that fell in love. They dated for a while, wrote love letters to each other and finally had sex. The man was arrested for statutory rape. His punishment was a misdemeanor conviction with a lot of community service hours. Although, not being of age, the girl was in love with the Defendant and did not want him to be prosecuted. All of this was taken into consideration when the sentence was passed.

The law does not care if the Defendant knew or should have suspected that the person he or she was having sex with was a minor. It only asks a simple question – was the second person a minor or not. If yes, then the Defendant will be arrested for statutory rape.

Los Angeles Statutory Rape Lawyer

Retaining an aggressive, experienced and knowledgeable criminal defense attorney is the most important decision you can make.  A qualified criminal defense lawyer can educate you as to your options, assist you in making critical life altering decisions, investigate the factors that led to your arrest, skillfully examine law enforcement personnel, and litigate the criminal case. Our firm has the qualified criminal defense attorneys that will be in your corner aggressively defending your rights with the goal of successfully fighting your criminal charges.

If you have been charged or under investigation in State Court for Statutory Rape, please call us to set up an appointment for a FREE CONSULTATION so we can assess your particular case and provide you with the best legal advice on how to proceed. Please allow us to offer you the assistance and support of a criminal defense law firm that has extensive experience with the State Court system as you face this most unfortunate experience. We are solely a Criminal Defense Law Firm. That is all we do and have done since our inception.

EARLY INTERVENTION BY COUNSEL IS KEY TO A PROPER DEFENSE

It is extremely important to have an experienced and knowledgeable criminal defense attorney begin working on your case as early as possible. Critical issues, such as how your particular case will be filed and what charges will be leveled against you, are decided, many a time, very soon after your arrest or during the investigatory period. Early intervention gives us an opportunity to potentially reduce or dismiss the charges against you before the first court date.

Over the years, our criminal defense lawyers have successfully represented numerous clients charged with statutory rape as described above. We have observed that the longer one postpones in hiring a criminal defense lawyer, the greater the problem may become.

Please feel free to call for an initial FREE CONSULTATION in one of our offices, or in the privacy and convenience of your own home, during which we can explore how best to defend and resolve your criminal case. Our 24-hour telephone numbers are (818) 205-1555; (310) 288-0795; (626) 356-0447; and (213) 385-1555.