Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

On feb 17th my wife was raped by a 15 year old who happens to be our next door neighbor. we called the police and filed a police report, he was arrested and released. We told the owner of the apartment building this 2 days after it happened and he said they had to leave and we replied that if it didn't get him into legal trouble to please tell them to leave. we found out that he indeed didn't get into legal trouble if he evicted them but he has not done so. for the past 4 months we have been living next door to her rapist and the mother who tried to cover it up. This has stressed us out immeasurably, my wife's epilectic seizures are getting more frequent and stronger. I have not been to work in 4 months because i don't feel it's safe for her to be alone in the apt. with our son. we have asked him repeatedly to evict them but he hasn't done a thing. the detective in charge has told him the same thing and the parole officer in charge of the case as well. He has not listened to anyone. we are out of money because we had to use our savings to pay the rent because i haven't worked. we are at our wit's end here. are there any legal recourses we can take at all?


Asked on 6/17/12, 12:02 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

You and your wife can file an application for a civil harassment restraining order that, when issued, gets filed with your local police department. Many of the courts have free clinics to help people with these types of legal applications. Once it is issued, if the next-door rapist comes within the distance specified for staying away, law enforcement can and will arrest him.

You also might strongly consider saving up some money or borrowing from a relative or friend for a deposit on a new apartment away from your present residence.

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Answered on 6/17/12, 5:22 pm


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