Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Adultress extorts money in exchange for not telling other spouse of affair

Thank you for your posting.

What you've described is Extortion. This crime is covered under Penal Codes section 518-520, which state as follows:

"518. Extortion is the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, or the obtaining of an official act of a public officer, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear, or under color of official right.

519. Fear, such as will constitute extortion, may be induced by a threat, either:

1. To do an unlawful injury to the person or property of the individual threatened or of a third person; or,

2. To accuse the individual threatened, or any relative of his, or member of his family, of any crime; or,

3. To expose, or to impute to him or them any deformity, disgrace or crime; or,

4. To expose any secret affecting him or them.

520. Every person who extorts any money or other property from another, under circumstances not amounting to robbery or carjacking, by means of force, or any threat, such as is mentioned in Section 519, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three or four years."

However, your question asks, "Can Couple 'B' prosecute?", and the answer is no. Although couple B can report this to the police, district or city attorney, or other prosecuting agencies, only the State can prosecute crimes for punishment.

The couple would, however, also have the right to sue in civil court for damages.

I hope that this information helps, but if you want more information, have further questions, or feel that you need legal representation, please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]. It's my pleasure to assist you in any way that I can.

Re: Adultress extorts money in exchange for not telling other spouse of affair

Criminal and civil action for Extortion is possible; but what do you want to achieve? In a civil case, you might consider seeking recovery of the money extorted and your attorney fees. Unless the extorters have 'money and assets' a large judgment is probably not going to be paid anyway; spending lots of time and money on such suit has to be well justified. Contact me if interested.

Re: Adultress extorts money in exchange for not telling other spouse of affair

in a nutshell, from the facts given thus far, this would appear to be a classic case of illegal extortion, which would be punishable criminally as well as civilly. if you would like further legal assistance in this matter, email us directly.