<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Matilda:
To make a long story short my cousin at age 17 had sex with a girl (15-16). 6 Months laer, cousin is now 18, the girl says she was raped. He was jailed and bailed. Once bailed the girls best friends now say he raped them also when they were all drunk at a party. There are 4 girls now and he is being charged with 8 counts of sexual assault! He has never been in any trouble with the law, he was going to receive a scholarship for football, and he is now sitting in jail with 1 million dollars bail and because of prop21 is looking at 15- to life for this! Somebody please help before my cousin is charged for something he did not do! He is a very good young man and the longer he is in jail I am afraid the less of a chance he has of ever coming home!!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My response:
It's obvious he needs an attorney, and one that will zealously protect his Constitutional rights. Beyond that bit of information, what can we do to help him from Cyberspace?
You say that "he is being charged with 8 counts of sexual assault" but then you say, "please help before my cousin is charged for something he did not do". Since he's already been "charged" (which is why he's in lock-up) for 8 counts of sexual assault and rape. It's highly doubtful he'll be charged again for "something he did not do" while he is in lock-up, awaiting his preliminary hearing and trial.
So, I'm not exactly sure just what it is you are asking.
Are you saying that he didn't have sexual relations with ANY of the underage girls, or 1 or 2 of them, or what?
If he did, it's not a defense, and it doesn't matter whether or not he knew their ages. All that matters is if they were minors, and were not "of age" to give legal consent to acts of sexual relations, then he has been properly charged with sexual assault and rape.
Remember, at this point, it's only a "charge" and he's entitled to a trial to force the State to prove each element of the charged crimes. If they don't, your cousin walks away a free man.
IAAL
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