I've been defending teachers related to sex crimes in Los Angeles for the past twenty-five years. Unfortunately, this is a crime that is taken very seriously by the authorities because any teacher who is having any sexual contact with their students who is in a position of trust is seen as a danger to the student and will typically be treated harshly by the prosecutors and judge.
Of course, there's always another side to the story that needs to be told to ensure that the teacher is properly defended or damage control can be implemented to salvage the many rights potentially at stake in a teacher-student relationship in Los Angeles.
The authorities will typically first interview all potential witnesses before approaching the teacher. They will talk to the student who is alleged to have had a sexual relationship with the teacher and gather as much information as possible.
They will then interview classmates or anybody else who might possess any information related to the illegal relationship. They can also subpoena records, such as phone records and other relevant documents, to establish a link in a chain of criminal offenses.
The next step they'll take once they have all that information is often to conduct a pretext phone call, where a student or someone else will call the teacher.
It could be the student's parents. The police will listen, ask questions to whoever the caller is, tape record everything, and ask pointed, specific questions about the sexual contact between the student and the teacher.
They will be hoping for the teacher to either admit that they were involved in some sexual relationship with the student, which would be compelling evidence against that teacher, or deny something that they can later prove to be true to show that the teacher is not telling the truth and is trying to hide the illegal relationship. Then they will use that evidence to prosecute the teacher for whatever sex crime they believe they've committed.
Legal Defenses to School Teacher-Student Sexual Relations
One defense is that the teacher did not have any sexual contact with the student. The key is that no adult, whether a teacher or not, can have any sexual contact with someone under the age of eighteen.
So, suppose the teacher can show that they had no sexual contact or, on the flip side. In that case, the prosecutors do not have the evidence to prove there was any sexual contact between a teacher and student – even though there might be a suspicion of that – there may be some evidence of some inappropriate communications, without being able to prove that there was some sexual relationship between the student and the teacher, there will not be criminal charges against that particular teacher.
So, moving forward, I invite the teacher into my office. In a private and confidential setting, we discuss the situation. I strongly encourage all potential clients, especially teachers facing potential sex crime charges, to be completely honest with me. Your honesty is crucial in building a strong defense strategy.
Please provide me with all the complete information without any spin, and then we can get down to the nitty-gritty of deciding exactly how to defend the case and what we can do to achieve the best possible result.
Whether the case should proceed to trial or whether there should be some negotiation, or perhaps there is evidence that the prosecutors lack because the police did not conduct a thorough investigation. We need to present that to the prosecutors.
We will leave no stone unturned in our investigation. We will gather the necessary evidence to show that the prosecutors do not have the proper information to prosecute you for a sex crime. Our thorough defense strategy will ensure that your rights are protected.
These cases are indeed horrifying because a teacher, a figure of trust, is involved. The potential consequences, such as sex registration, jail or prison time, and probation, are serious. The prosecutors and judges can use these to deter anyone from becoming involved with students in the future. This highlights the importance of a robust and experienced defense.
This is why it's so essential to hire a criminal defense attorney who has experience dealing with these cases, who's been down this road before, and knows what it takes to defend a sex crime case properly. A good defense attorney will investigate the case, gather evidence, and present a strong defense to protect your rights. Contact us for a free case evaluation.
