Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in California
If I sent about 20 text messages to a minor that I did not know was a minor(15), and I am now being accused of annoyance of a child what laws am I in trouble of and how difficult will my case be? The two texts that are in question are, "Guess I wont be asking you to a midnight sesh of boozing and skinny dipping." and "Haven't you ever had the urge to strip a guy down and man handle him, it's not a bad thing if you havent."
Also why would the police say they are getting a search warrant for the contents of my messages from my cell phone company? It's my understanding that those are wiped from the server after at most 14 days. I was told the warrant would take many days to even execute.
Lastly do the police have the right to call and question anyone I have spoken to on my cell phone records regarding me?
2 Answers from Attorneys
The police have the right to question anyone they like. If they question YOU, say NOTHING AT ALL except to say that your attorney will be in touch. If you have been arrested or otherwise formally accused of a crime, you'll need legal representation. Please feel free to call me at any time if you have further questions.
Yes, law enforcement can and will investigate, including seeking search warrants for phone and ISP records, and may seek to examine any of your 'technology' devices.
You face potential child abuse/molestation charges, under state and federal statutes, just like you see on TV sting shows. Your assumptions about records retention is quite ill-informed..
No amount of free 'tips and hints' from here or anywhere else are going to help you in your defense, other than the advice to exercise your 5th Amendment right to SHUT UP and do NOT talk to anyone except your attorney about your case.
If you are arrested and charged with a crime, the proper questions are, can you be convicted, and what can you do? Defend the charges. Go to court, enter a not guilty plea, arrange bail reduction or OR, set up and attend the court hearing[s] and trial date[s]. File evidence suppression or other motions as applicable. Raise all the available defenses with whatever admissible and credible witnesses, evidence and facts are available for legal arguments for motions, plea bargaining, or at trial. Go to trial if it can't be resolved with motions or a plea bargain. There is no magic wand to wave and make it all disappear. If you don't know how to do these things, then hire an attorney that does, who will try to get a decent outcome or plea bargain for you. If serious about doing so, feel free to contact me. I�ll be happy to help you use whatever defenses you may have. If you can't afford private counsel, apply for the Public Defender.
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