Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

An individual cannot "press charges." She can report this incident to the police, who would forward their report to the District Attorney, who will decide whether to file charges.

Should you be worried? Only if you want to stay out of prison and avoid registering as a sex offender.

Let me guess; she called you put of the blue and wanted to talk about what happened that night, right? Sounds like a "pretext phone call," where the cops have the alleged victim of a crime call the suspect. The cops record the call and help the victim get incriminating statements from the suspect.

Don't talk to anyone about this case except an attorney.

If contacted by the police, tell them you won't answer any questions without an attorney present.

If Mr. Marshall has guessed correctly about the phone call, then she would have been real interested in discussing the moment she said "stop" and how long you took to stop? Am I right?

The reason I ask is because of a First District Court of Appeal Case called People v. Roundtree, a terrible decision that rules that if in the middle of intercourse a woman says "stop", it is rape not to "promptly" withdraw. The problem with this decision is that there are only two people present, and who is the arbiter of whether you stopped "fast enough"? Her of course. So a man can be guilty of rape just because she "Feels" you didn't stop fast enough.

Yes, you should be concerned, very concerned. Hire the best criminal lawyer you can find. I mean NOW.

For further information about false accusations of rape and domestic violence, you can read the articles here:

http://lawyer-domestic-violence.com/domestic_violence.htm

and

http://lawyer-domestic-violence.com/results.htm

Good luck, and DON'T talk to her again, or to anyone else about those events. It will NOT "go easier" on you if you cooperate, though the police might tell you so. And if they say they'll have to arrest you if you don't want to discuss it, just hold out your wrists and keep your mouth closed.

I agree with Mr. Dinday's explanation of People v. Roundtree, but I definitely do not agree with his view that it was "a terrible decision". To me -- and to the other courts which have agreed with it -- the decision seems entirely correct. Just as "no" means "no", "stop" means "stop".

Mr. Dinday says that this invites false accusations because there would be no other witnesses, but false accusations of all sorts of crimes are possible when the accuser and accused were alone together. That does not mean we should make it legal to do anything that might be the subject of a false accusation.

If your girlfriend's sister told you to stop and you took your time before stopping, then you're guilty. If you stopped promptly, then you're not. But either way you should indeed "really be worried about" this. Even if you're innocent, the jury might believe otherwise and convict you. The result will be a lengthy prison term, lifetime registration as a sex offender, and a felony on your permanent record.

You need a lawyer immediately. And as both Mr. Marshall and Mr. Dinday have said, don't discuss the case with anyone except the lawyers you consider hiring.

Worry?? Nah, prison and registered sex offender status is no big deal, right? If she files rape charges, that's what you face if convicted. Exercise your fifth amendment right to SHUT UP if contacted by authorities or anyone else about this. If you think there is any chance she will do so, hire an attorney immediately. If serious about doing so, feel free to contact me.