Sex Crimes Articles
What is Indecent Exposure Under California Law in 2019?
Indecent exposure is defined in California Penal Code section 314. Basically it requires the prosecution to prove that the defendant willfully (i.e., on purpose) exposed his/her genitals in the presence of another person who might be offended by the defendant's actions; and that the defendant intended to direct attention to his/her genitals for the purpose of trying to sexually gratify himself/herself, or sexually offending another person. It doesn't cover cases…
Read MoreForcible Sexual Acts: What If the Victim Does Not Say Anything?
Most people have heard the expression, “No means no,” which means that when a person says they do not want to engage in sex, it is on the other person to stop trying to do so. What happens if the other person never says no? Can you still be convicted of a forcible sex act? According to a recent case before the California Courts of Appeal, the answer is yes.…
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Can You Confront Your Accuser in a Sex Abuse Case?
Within the United States Constitution, the Sixth Amendment has long served to provide basic protections to those accused of criminal offenses. One of these protections is the right for a defendant “to be confronted with the witnesses against him,” which has traditionally been interpreted to mean that the accused can directly face their accusers in an open court. In recent years, however, this confrontation clause no longer applies to all…
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Can A Minor Really Be A Sex Offender In California?
Wallin & Klarich has been in business close to 40 years and, in that time, we have seen California police and prosecutors become much more aggressive in investigating and prosecuting sexual activity between minors. This includes consensual sex acts between underage people, as well as "sexting" - where participants send sexually explicit images of themselves to one another, which are classified as child pornography. Gone are the days when the…
Read MoreProposed Law Seeks to Help Reimburse Victims of Human Trafficking
Many laws and policies start out as good ideas but lose their impact by the time the language is finally hammered out in the legislative process. For example, California has a program to assist victims of crime to get their lives back together. Passed in 1965, the Victim’s Compensation Fund was the first of its kind in the United States, and it has given millions of dollars to victims of…
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What Is Consent?
If you or a loved one are charged with Rape [PC 261(a)(2)], Sodomy [PC 286], or Sexual Penetration [PC 289], consent may be a defense available to you. What is "Consent" Under California Law? California Penal Code, section 261.6 defines "consent" as "positive cooperation in act or attitude pursuant to an exercise of free will. The person must act freely and voluntarily and have knowledge of the nature of the…
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Winning a Sex Crime Case Begins with Winning Over the Jury
Every year in California innocent people are arrested and convicted of a sex crime charge based upon the testimony of just one witness. That is, there is no DNA. There are no video recordings of the alleged crime. There are no alibi witnesses. Oftentimes, there are no eyewitnesses at all - save for the accuser and the defendant. Allegations of sexual abuse that happened months and even years prior are…
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Things You Should Know About Being a California Registered Sex Offender on Halloween
Psychiatrists say people who fear or have anxiety surrounding Halloween are suffering from samhainophobia. If you are a California registered sex offender, you will likely fall into this category, but for different reasons than run-of-the-mill samhainophobics. This is because California, like most states, has seemed to spare no creativity in attempting to place unreasonable restrictions on those who are convicted of California sex offenses. For instance, every year since 1994,…
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After-School Program Supervisor Charged with Sexual Abuse
After-school programs are usually a positive thing for a community. Parents who can’t be home from work have a place to send their kids for the few hours before they get home; students get a chance to do homework early, or take a break and have fun with their friends; and those who volunteer to work with these young girls and boys get to engage in a rewarding program that…
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A New Law Lessens the Harshest Penalty for Indecent Exposure
There is a dramatic change coming to California’s criminal justice system that will alter the amount of time those who have been convicted of certain crimes will have to spend on the registry of sex offenders. Under current law, any person required to register as a sex offender endures a life sentence on that registry, regardless of how severe the crime they committed (PC 290). Beginning on January 1, 2021,…
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