Federal courts use criminal statutes under Title 18 of the United States Code, while state courts have their own statutes. This means there are several differences that can impact sex crime charges and defenses, along with the consequences of a conviction. If you have a sex crime case in a federal court...
If you are found possessing, producing, selling, distributing, or transporting any obscene material depicting a child under 18 years old in sexual explicit manner, you could be charged with federal child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2252. This statute also makes it a federal crime to download child porn...
This is a good question because if you're about to be arrested or you're the loved one of somebody who's been arrested and you're trying to get them out, bail is an important topic, especially in Los Angeles today. Because of the Coronavirus, there's been an edict sent down that all bail shou...
When people get arrested and they're facing the government and they're going to have to go into court and deal with the prosecutor, they're obviously concerned about hiring a private lawyer and how much will that actually cost. Of course, the answer is it varies depending on: how good the ...
What Can You Do if You Feel Like You're Being Investigated for a Sex Crime in California? Sex crimes are investigated all the time across the United States. I've handled thousands of cases in Los Angeles over the last 27 years and a lot of times, believe it or not, people get wind that they'...
Can Prosecutors Use Prior Bad Acts Against a Defendant in a Sex Crime Prosecution? This is a big issue that's been around since I've been practicing criminal defense now for about 27 years and more and more the pendulum has swung in the direction of helping the prosecutors prove these sex cri...
What Happens if You're Caught Sending or Receiving Nude Photographs with a Minor? This is a very serious offense and I've seen it prosecuted at both the state and federal level. I've been practicing in this area involving minors, the internet, phones and computers since its inception, the adv...
Obviously, sex crimes are some of the more seriously prosecuted cases and the LA District Attorney's office takes a lot of interest in them. As far as jail and prison go, usually they're among the top crimes in Los Angeles if you're charged with some sort of a sex offense, that you have the l...
What is Required for Kidnapping for Purposes of Rape Under California Penal Code 209(b) PC? This is a very serious crime. If somebody is convicted of Penal Code 209(b) PC aggravated kidnapping for purposes of rape, they are going to be facing a life sentence in Los Angeles county. Aggravated...
Can the Prosecution Enter Evidence Regarding Past Misconduct or Alleged Sexual Assault Allegations to My Current California Sex Crime Case? The answer depends on the type of evidence the prosecution is trying to get in. Unfortunately, if you're charged with a sex crime and you have prior cond...
Sexting is a very common charge in today's day and age because a lot of minors are on the internet. A lot of adults are going into chat rooms and various other social media vehicles and they end up coming across a minor. Sometimes they know it's a minor, but sometimes they don't. Other times th...
Learn Whether You Will Be Facing Prison Time If Convicted of Failing To Register as a Sex Offender Under California Penal Code 290 which is the statute prosecutors will file against somebody who fails to register as a sex offender. That Code Section is a straight felony and people believe they are going to jail.
Review of the California Crime of Assault With Intent to Commit a Felony Under Penal Code 220 PC. California Penal Code 220 defines the crime of assault with intent to commit a felony. An individual violates this section by assaulting another person with the intent to commit a serious sex crim...
We see this once in a while with people in the hospital or a nursing home. Someone who's older; someone who's incapacitated in some way and another person is allegedly taking advantage of them. Lewd acts by a caretaker upon a dependent adult is defined under California Penal Code 288(b)(2). It c...
Over the years that I've handled criminal cases, we do see some massage parlor cases come up. It's often where the women in the massage parlor are arrested because they get involved in a discussion related to having some sort of sexual activity for money with a customer who happens to end up ...
If you or a loved one is charged with human trafficking under California Penal Code 236.1 PC , it usually has something to do with women being used for sex or some sort of sexual act for money. The trafficking part, obviously, is the women are coming in from either different states or differe...
The Best Strategy if You're Charged with a Violation Of Penal Code Section 288.5 – Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child. This is one of the more serious crimes and if you've allegedly done a number of different acts with a child. If the child is under the age of 14 and there's more than 10 years...
What are Defenses to Assault with Intent to Commit Rape Under Penal Code 220? This is a very common crime that I see a lot prosecuted in Los Angeles county — whether it be in downtown Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley or any of the 38 courts in LA county. People get charged with this assault w...
Accused of Violating California Penal Code 647(j)(4)? This crime is a relatively new one because of the advent of the internet and people videotaping each other and then putting it on the internet to punish the other person as revenge for some reason or another. It's going to take you taking vide...
What are the Consequences of Arranging a Meeting With a Minor to Commit a Lewd Act – Penal Code Section 288.4? This is a common crime that I see a lot. A lot of times what ends up happening is the person that's arranging the meeting with the minor doesn't realize that they're actually not arrang...
The California sex crime of “oral copulation by force or fear” is defined in California Penal Code 288a. This crime is charged more than people might think in Los Angeles County. People forcing other people to orally copulate them and then the prosecutors come in and charge this particular crime ...
Trying to Get Diversion for a Defendant in a Solicitation of Prostitution Case in California? A lot of people are being arrested in the San Fernando Valley and in Los Angeles for the crime of solicitation of prostitution. Basically, what this means is they're agreeing to have some sort of sexua...
This is a common crime nowadays that people are being either raped because they get too intoxicated and someone takes advantage of them or, what I've see a lot of times is, alleged victims are claiming that a person rape them when they don't even know whether they were raped because they were so ...
Lewd Acts with a Minor – California Penal Code 288. What is Considered a Lewd Acts Upon a Child For Purposes of Penal Code Section 288? I've handled many of these cases over my 26-year career. Typically, the issues are twofold: (1) the defendant is touching the child in a private part; and (2) t...
Should You Talk to the Police if You're Being Investigated for a Sex Crime in California? I think the answer to this question is fairly obvious, and it's no. You definitely should not talk to the police. There are certain circumstances which I would call exceptions to this rule. However, they'...
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