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How often do you see sex crime cases in Los Angeles County where drugs and alcohol were involved in an alleged offense? How does that impact the case? A good portion of sex related offenses involve drugs or alcohol. A lot of people in Los Angeles County are meeting other people on dating applicat...

Human sex trafficking consists of people who are involved in the sex trade, such as prostitution. A lot of these people go online to get women involved in prostitution. They are meeting them at different locations. Most of the women involved in sex trafficking are runaways. As a result, the prose...

This is an interesting concept because sexual assault really isn't a crime.  In other words, the crime is more touching the other party in an impermissible way — in a sexual way. California Penal Code 243.4 defines the crime of sexual battery. That's where the sexual battery concept comes up, but...

Child molestation cases are probably among the most serious cases filed by Los Angeles prosecutors and most times they're trying to seek prison for those individuals who get themselves arrested and prosecuted for these type of sex crimes. As far as how long in prison it will depend on a number of...

This is a good question because a lot of people have a false view of how a sex crime case will be prove or prosecuted.  I can't tell you how many times people come into my office and say, well they don't have any evidence against me so I don't really understand why I've been arrested. I don't get...

The reason for this is interesting and you really wouldn't think about it unless you have the inside information.  I defend a lot of human trafficking sex crime-related offenses in the Orange County California area. California Penal Code 236.1 defines the crime of human trafficking. Then speaking...

If you don't know the Los Angeles downtown court at 210 West Temple, it is the main courthouse where most sex crimes are prosecuted.  The reason for this is directly across the street is the main hub of the District Attorney's office that handles sex crime cases at the Hall of Records.  All of th...

Are All Convicted Sex Offenders Required To Register On The Sex Offender List? The majority of people convicted as sex offenders are required to register on the sex offender list. There are lists of people who currently have to register as sex offenders, and there are lists of people who plead gu...

The law in California implements harsh penalties regarding sexting with minors. Depending on the situation, the local authorities may hand over the case to the federal government if the crime is severe or involves a minor from a different country. If the crime happened across state lines or anoth...

California defines aggravated sexual assault as the act of an individual who touches, attacks, or causes sexual harm on another person against his or her will.  The person who has the intent to assault has to have the thought pattern that they're going to try and sexually assault another person. ...

What Happens if the FBI or Police Come and Seize Your Computers and Other Devices in a Child Pornography Investigation? A lot of times people are at home and the FBI and/or police come, knock on the door and serve a search warrant. They take their computer and all of their electronic devices, inc...

This is one of the more common charges that I see when it comes to people who have to register for sex crimes in Los Angeles and throughout California.  What they don't realize is, if you've been convicted of a sex crime, the police and prosecutors are going to be real quick to file a criminal ca...

We get a lot of calls from people asking whether or not they can have consensual sex or engage in some sort of physical sexual activity with somebody under the age of 18 if that person agrees, and of course, in California the answer is no. So, if you touch anybody in a sexual way or have sex with...

This whole concept of catfishing has to do with somebody giving fake information to another person, and basically trying to lure them into a date or whatever circumstance they're trying to do.  Usually, you see it done through social media where an individual will send, for example, different pic...

I've been doing this for twenty-five years and I continue to see people being charged with sexual battery and a lot of times it's in the most innocuous way — whether it be at a sporting event and somebody touches another person — people real drunk at restaurants or fast-food locations touching wo...

This is an interesting question because a lot of the rape cases that we see is one person's word against another's.  That makes it very difficult for the prosecutors to prove the case because the man is going to say one thing and the woman is going to say another thing, and then it ends up boilin...

The answer is no you wouldn't have to register if you're charged, but if you get convicted of Penal Code Section 243.4 — sexual battery — believe it or not, that is a registerable offense.  So, that's one big thing that defense attorneys are trying to do — is get rid of any sex offenses where...

The answer to this question is absolutely yes and that's one of the biggest weapons they have in criminal prosecutions, is to try and see if the person they are accusing of a sex crime — whatever the crime may be — whether it be rape or any other crime — and see if they have any prior criminal re...

Having practiced criminal defense now for twenty-five years and done many sex crime cases, I see more and more law enforcement trying to use these pretext phone calls in order to get evidence against those people they believe are involved in committing sex crimes. Definition of a Pretext Phone Ca...

California Evidence Code Sections 1101 and 1108 become relevant when you're talking about prosecutors that have filed a criminal sex crime case against somebody and they're trying to use that person's past against them. It's not just past criminal convictions for sex crimes, it could just be ...

When someone is charged with sexual battery under California Penal Code Section 243.4(e)(1), this is obviously a serious crime because if you're convicted or you plead guilty to a sexual battery in Los Angeles, California, you're looking at registering as a sex offender. That means every year on ...

This is a very serious crime under California Penal Code Section 288.5(a) – probably one of the most serious sex crime offenses and it carries with it fifteen for life.  I've been doing a lot of these cases in downtown Los Angeles where people are actually looking at fifteen to life.  The prosecu...

This is controlled by CALCRIM 1071 jury instructions.  It basically just describes what the elements are in order to convict a person for this crime.  It's typically prosecuted under California Penal Code Section 261.5(a) through (c). The bottom line is, one of the biggest defenses to this is tha...

Elements of the Crime – California Penal Code Section 288(b)(1). When it comes to these crimes against children — sex-related offenses in Los Angeles county — prosecutors have certain elements of the crime that they have to prove in order to convict somebody of one of these cases. Obviously, you w...

The first factor, and it's a pretty simplistic one related to criminal defense in sex crimes and whether you have to register, is the crime you actually plead guilty or no contest to.  There's a whole list of crimes that if you plead guilty to them, you must register as a sex offender. That w...