Law Office of David P. Shapiro - San Diego Criminal Defense Attorney

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3500 5th Avenue #304 San Diego, CA 92103

San Diego Rape Lawyer

Rape Defense Lawyer in San Diego

Have you been Charged with Rape?

(Transcript from video)

Hi, my name is David P. Shapiro. I am a San Diego based criminal lawyer and the Owner and Managing Partner of the Law Office of David P. Shapiro based in San Diego, and today I want to answer a question that we receive quite frequently at the firm where people want to know, “Hey, I’ve been charged with rape under Penal Code Section 261. How do I beat it? How do I avoid going to prison? How do I keep my good name?” Rape can be described and defined many ways, but, for purposes of this video, we’ll talk about 261 Subdivision A, (as in “apple”). That can be forcible rape. But it could also be consensual rape. What I mean by that is, rape under situations where the alleged victim is too intoxicated to legally give their consent, or where they are unconscious, whether they’re asleep, or whether they are coming in and out of consciousness. Whether it’s because of alcohol, whether it’s because of fatigue; whatever the situation may be. First one I talked about was forcible rape. It’s punished the same way; the same exact way as rape of an intoxicated person. You’re facing up to eight years in state prison just on that charge alone. You’ll be labeled a sex offender for the rest of your life. How do you beat a forcible rape case? Well first, you keep your mouth closed when you’re questioned by police. You don’t admit you were on the planet at the time of the alleged rape, let alone that you had sex or attempted to have sex with the person making these accusations against you. You don’t want to confirm a key element of the offense. That key element being that you actually had sex with the person, or that you tried to have sex with that person. Let them, the police and the prosecutor, prove it. So it is an essential first step; keep your mouth closed. Second step when charged with rape or under investigation for rape; do not consensually give up your DNA. Let the cops get a warrant. Let the District Attorney get a warrant. Far too often people are like, “Well, doesn’t that make me look guilty particularly in San Diego if I hire a lawyer, if I say, ‘Nah, nah, get a warrant’?” Doesn’t matter what that makes you look like to the cops or to the District Attorney. They probably believe you’re guilty anyway. What’s important is how you’re going to look to a judge. What’s important is how you’re going to look to a jury. Be smart. Don’t give the police or the prosecutor evidence that they otherwise can’t get. Another factor when charged with rape; you want to make sure you hire the best locally experienced attorney around. You want to make sure you hire a law firm that has experience defending against forcible rape cases like we do. You want to make sure you hire a law firm that has experience defending against rape of an intoxicated person, or rape of an unconscious person like our firm does. You want to do anything and everything possible to put yourself or your loved one in the best position possible moving forward when so much is at stake. If you want to learn more about rape charges, particularly in San Diego, and how you could possibly beat them with a viable and a strong and a smart defense. I encourage you to give my firm a call, 619-295-3555.