What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
A friend of mine's 31 year old mentally handicapped son was arrested for violating California Penal Code 288 (c) (1). Basically what happened was, he met this girl that lied about her name and told him that she is 18, but actually is 15. They exchanged cell phone numbers, she sent him a nude photo of herself, and he sent her one of himself in return. Her Mother found out about this exchange and had him arrested. He has never been arrested before, and as such has no criminal record of any kind.
He was assigned an Attorney from the Public Defender's Office and he asked her to talk to his Mother about the case as he doesn't understand a lot of what's happening. He is basically like a 12 year old. I went with her to see the Attorney. She basically said that even though he did not know the girl was only 15 years old, he didn't really have much chance of beating this, as California requires you to know whether anyone you associate with is a minor. And she said that the DA's office says he supposedly admitted to Police that he knows she is 15, but he was likely tricked into saying that. It's likely that since he thinks like a 12 year old, and his IQ is 72, he doesn't understand the problem of him associating with a 15 year old girl.
The DA's office made an offer for a plea bargain that if he pleads guilty to committing an unlawful sex act with a minor he would get three years Felony Probation, and would not be sent to state prison. If he were to violate the probation he could serve up to three years in the county jail where he is now. (With the usual time reductions for good behavior, etc.) He would also have to register as a sex offender, but possibly not for life. The fact that his is IQ is 72 and he has no criminal record and has never been in any kind of trouble was considered, and his Attorney's boss (The Public Defender of the county) says the plea bargain is a "gift from the DA", since it is a much lesser charge than the original one. There is also a restraining order which stipulates that he must not go within 100 yards of the girl's home, school, the park they met in, etc.
While that does sound like a much better thing than going to prison, there are things about it that bring up several questions that his Mother needs to know the answers to. She is disabled and in a wheelchair, and her son is her In Home Support Services (IHSS) service provider. Since it was listed as part of his sentence and restraining order that he can not go anywhere that children would be, like schools, parks, the teen center, etc., she wants to know if she is driving her car and he is with her in the car, do the restrictions about not going to those places prevent her from driving past one of those places if she does not stop the car? In other words, if he is not in control of the car, can the driver of a car in which he is a passenger go past these places without violating his probation?
Thank you in advance for any advice.
A friend of mine's 31 year old mentally handicapped son was arrested for violating California Penal Code 288 (c) (1). Basically what happened was, he met this girl that lied about her name and told him that she is 18, but actually is 15. They exchanged cell phone numbers, she sent him a nude photo of herself, and he sent her one of himself in return. Her Mother found out about this exchange and had him arrested. He has never been arrested before, and as such has no criminal record of any kind.
He was assigned an Attorney from the Public Defender's Office and he asked her to talk to his Mother about the case as he doesn't understand a lot of what's happening. He is basically like a 12 year old. I went with her to see the Attorney. She basically said that even though he did not know the girl was only 15 years old, he didn't really have much chance of beating this, as California requires you to know whether anyone you associate with is a minor. And she said that the DA's office says he supposedly admitted to Police that he knows she is 15, but he was likely tricked into saying that. It's likely that since he thinks like a 12 year old, and his IQ is 72, he doesn't understand the problem of him associating with a 15 year old girl.
The DA's office made an offer for a plea bargain that if he pleads guilty to committing an unlawful sex act with a minor he would get three years Felony Probation, and would not be sent to state prison. If he were to violate the probation he could serve up to three years in the county jail where he is now. (With the usual time reductions for good behavior, etc.) He would also have to register as a sex offender, but possibly not for life. The fact that his is IQ is 72 and he has no criminal record and has never been in any kind of trouble was considered, and his Attorney's boss (The Public Defender of the county) says the plea bargain is a "gift from the DA", since it is a much lesser charge than the original one. There is also a restraining order which stipulates that he must not go within 100 yards of the girl's home, school, the park they met in, etc.
While that does sound like a much better thing than going to prison, there are things about it that bring up several questions that his Mother needs to know the answers to. She is disabled and in a wheelchair, and her son is her In Home Support Services (IHSS) service provider. Since it was listed as part of his sentence and restraining order that he can not go anywhere that children would be, like schools, parks, the teen center, etc., she wants to know if she is driving her car and he is with her in the car, do the restrictions about not going to those places prevent her from driving past one of those places if she does not stop the car? In other words, if he is not in control of the car, can the driver of a car in which he is a passenger go past these places without violating his probation?
Thank you in advance for any advice.