Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

No private citizen can force the District Attorney to file criminal charges. All you can do is to report the crime to police. Their excuse as stated for not charging him is absurd. There is no need for DNA evidence if he confesses. But you are not clear whether, aside from your being underage, there was also force involved. "Force" could mean giving you alcohol, drugs, coercion, threats, or not allowing you to leave when you wanted to.

What is possible is to file a civil lawsuit for money damages. You would be able to prove what he did and hopefully collect a money judgment against him. It is of course always a good question whether even if you get a judgment, can he be forced to pay it? There may even be other people whose negligence contributed to the rape, who could also be responsible to pay damages.

I have been litigating injury cases, including sexual trauma cases, for over 30 years in California. If you would like to explore bringing him to justice, you can give me a call for a free consultation. Here is my website with my contact info. Though I am in San Francisco, for a case like yours I could represent you.

http://negligentdeath.com/contact.htm

I'm sorry to hear about your ordeal. It's very frustrating when someone who commits a serious crime escapes justice.

Having said that, though, I'm afraid the answer to your question is no. The reason the D.A. didn't charge this man with rape is that they couldn't prove the two of you had sexual contact. They would have to prove the same thing to charge him with statutory rape. If the evidence isn't there, they can't pursue either of these charges.

You may still have time to bring a civil suit against this man. But if he doesn't have money to pay a judgment (few 22-year-olds do), then suing him may not be worth the trouble.

Again, I'm sorry about what you've been through. I wish I could be more encouraging.

If the police and DA refuse to prosecute, you can bring civil suit against him, but you face the test of whether it is practical to do so. If the case has merit [reasonable likelihood of winning], value [substantial recoverable financial damages], and collectability [defendant with assets or insurance coverage], all of which are necessary unless you are willing to pursue this on 'principle' knowing you won't get back the money you spend doing so, then feel free to contact me.