Innocence Legal Team Blog

California Penal Code 288.3 makes it a felony to contact or communicate with a minor when the purpose of that contact is to commit sexual offenses. Understanding how prosecutors build these cases is the first step toward an effective defense.

A child sex crime accusation against you or a family member can turn your family's world upside down in a matter of hours, if not minutes. Police begin building a case the moment a serious sex crime accusation is made. Child Protective Services (CPS) is required to get involved the moment a child's ...

Online solicitation of a minor is one of the most aggressively prosecuted charges in California. Under several overlapping Penal Code sections, prosecutors can pursue felony charges based solely on digital messages, even if no in-person meeting ever occurred. If you or someone you care about is ...

California Penal Code 243.4 defines sexual battery as the intentional touching of another person's intimate parts without consent and for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse. If you are facing a PC 243.4 charge, the consequences can be severe and long-lasting.

Recovered Memories as the Basis for California Sex Crime Prosecutions If you have just been contacted by law enforcement regarding a sexual assault or child molestation allegation (such as Penal Code § 288) from twenty, thirty, or even forty years ago, you are likely in a state of absolute shock. ...

If you recently received an emotional, highly unusual phone call from someone accusing you of sexual abuse, you are likely the target of an active police investigation. This staged conversation is known as a pretext call, and how you handle it can determine whether or not you face formal criminal ...

You have received a demand letter from a lawyer, or you have just been served with a civil lawsuit alleging childhood sexual abuse from decades ago. How is this even possible?

If you are under investigation for a sex crime in California, the steps you take immediately can shape the outcome of your case. Learn how to protect your rights, preserve critical evidence, and avoid mistakes that can strengthen the prosecution’s case.

When a California jury returns a guilty verdict in a sex crime case, the courtroom goes quiet, and for the defendant, the world narrows to a single question: what happens next? The answer, in many cases, is an appeal. But the appellate process is nothing like a trial. There is no jury. There are no ...

In child pornography cases, the distinction between possessing and distributing illegal material can determine whether a defendant faces years in state prison or decades in a federal facility. That distinction often hinges on a single factor: intent. Did the defendant knowingly share files, or did ...