Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

I was parked on a road around 8PM at night (with my girlfriend; we are both 17). We were making out and the car windows were very foggy, so when a car pulled up behind us and stalled, we failed to recognize that it was a police car. We panicked and drove away. The sirens then flashed and my girlfriend (who was driving with her glasses off and with the windows fogged up) panicked more, causing us to hit and knock over a tree. The officer placed me in handcuffs and put me in the back of his police car. After a few minutes, he walked over to me and asked me additional questions (besides my name, age, etc). He asked if we were having sex and, before I could answer, he added "Because if I get a different story from her..." which made me nervous so I answered "yes." However, at no point during this entire situation was I read my rights. The police ended up understanding that we were just two freaked out kids with no previous charges/criminal record and only gave us a traffic citation. But he said that the DA may or may not press charges. My question is this...how likely is it that the DA will press charges knowing that the police let us off with a traffic citation? Also, if the DA press charges, can they use my answers to the cop's questions against me even though I was not read my rights? Other than my answer, the cops have no proof that we were having sex.


Asked on 2/06/11, 2:06 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

Your poorly chosen remark will be enough to convict you of statutory rape if they decide to charge you. Let that be the last time you ever say anything to the police.

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Answered on 2/08/11, 7:41 pm


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