Costa Mesa Man Convicted of Raping Two Women
A Costa Mesa man sat on trial recently as jurors had to determine whether he raped two women in 2008 and 2009 or whether the sex was consensual. After deliberating two days, the jury found the man guilty and he now faces up to 140 years to life in prison, The Orange County Register reports.
The 42-year-old man was found guilty of two counts of forcible rape and, under California law, his sentence has been enhanced because of the allegation that he forcibly raped multiple victims.
The rape of a minor in California is a serious offense and, as revealed by this story, punishable by years or decades in a state prison. That's why hiring an experienced and aggressive Los Angeles Rape Defense Lawyer should be the first step in fighting the charges.
According to the news story, the man allegedly raped a 17-year-old illegal immigrant whom he supervised at a dry cleaning business in Fountain Valley in 2009. Less than a year earlier, the prosecution alleged, he broke into a friend's apartment and raped her.
The man's defense team argued to jurors that the sex with both women was consensual and that a false accusation is like a "scarlet letter" that irreparably harms a person's reputation. Neither woman reported the alleged incidents immediately and the defense argued that they filled in the blanks by lying on the witness stand on trial.
The man was previously convicted of vehicular manslaughter in 1992 and this conviction could count as a second strike of the state's three strikes rule. The judge has the discretion not to sentence him for that strike, but the minimum term he faces is 50 years to life, the newspaper reports.
Sex crimes in Los Angeles and throughout California are among the most complex cases in the criminal justice system. Many consider them to be the most serious aside from murder.
But the public should also keep in mind that not everyone who is arrested is guilty. The police get it wrong. The victims have vendettas they take out on people with false accusations and witnesses make incorrect identifications of people they deem suspects. This isn't a 30-minute TV drama.
In real life, DNA isn't a fool-proof science. How police collected and handled samples, how state or private laboratories examined them should be reviewed. And the results don't come out of a computer with 100 percent certainty after a few quick tests. There is human error and the results are complicated.
Especially in cases where a minor is the alleged victim, they can sometimes be mistaken about who committed the alleged crime or sometimes they have the tendency to make things up. Scared teens who know they shouldn't be sexually active may lie to police and their parents in order to save face. This can lead to arrests and false convictions.
But the good news for these defendants is that there's an experienced Los Angeles Rape Defense Attorney who will stand by their side. Everyone, regardless of the crime, has a right to a fair trial and an aggressive defense. This means attacking all aspects of the state's evidence. It may mean getting evidence thrown out if police obtained it improperly.
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