A Hollywood young actors manager was recently arrested and charged with suspicion of molesting a former client, and investigators have said they believe there could be more victims.
It's been a strange year for sex crimes in Los Angeles and nationwide. Take the ongoing Penn State University scandal for instance, in which a former football defensive coordinator has been charged with molesting at least 10 boys in a span of more than a decade. In another ongoing case, alleged victims have accused a former Syracuse University basketball coach of sexual misconduct.
It appears that alleged sexual assault victims have been more bold in coming out and making allegations. And while in many cases they were indeed abused, this doesn't mean that every person accused is guilty. Many are, in fact, being accused for the potential financial benefits.
Our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers have seen many high-profile Los Angeles and Hollywood executives and officials charged with crimes, including sex crimes, only to see them later dropped because witnesses recant their testimony or cases fall apart because of credibility with the alleged victim.
According to a news article by the Los Angeles Times, the manager faces one count of suspicion of committing lewd acts upon a child under 14. Detectives obtained a search warrant for the Santa Monica house where the 47-year-old man lives and runs his business.
A singer is the alleged victim and told police he had been sexually assaulted in the man's apartment and in a Woodland Hills house. Bail has been set at $300,000.
According to a detective's affidavit, the accuser, now 18, told police in November that the man had molested him starting when he was 11 or 12. The detective wrote that the teen had been forced to have sex with the suspect between 30 and 40 times over three years, until he was 15. The alleged victim said the manager told him that it was common in the entertainment industry and that if he told anyone, they would both be hurt, including the boy's career.
When the boy was 15 and stopped doing business with the man, the alleged abuse stopped. The boy confronted the man in November and taped their conversation, fearing there might be other victims. The man, in the secret recording, allegedly acknowledged the two had sexual contact, but denied abuse. He said the boy was interested.
The teen went to police and allowed them to listen to the recording. The alleged victim told police others had spent the night at the house. The newspaper reported it was unclear if police found any evidence of child pornography or photos of the teen or other boys at the apartment.
According to California law, it is a crime to record or eavesdrop on any conversation in which you haven't told the other person you are recording. So, while the alleged victim in this case may have been trying to gain evidence, he may have committed a crime in doing so.
It will be incumbent upon the suspect's Los Angeles sex crimes lawyer to investigate whether any evidence of the recording can be brought into trial and whether the case should have gone forward considering the questionable start to the case. If other evidence was found as a result of an illegal recording, it's possible that evidence could be suppressed, or kept out of trial.
If you need to speak with a Los Angeles sex crimes attorney, contact the Law Offices of Stephen G. Rodriguez and Associates at 213-223-2173 for a free consultation.
More Blog Entries:
Bay Area Rape Case Shows Sex Crimes Prosecutions in Los Angeles Can Be Undermined By Credibility Issues: November 20, 2011
Additional Resources:
Manager of young actors arrested in molestation case, by Dawn C. Chmielewski and Harriet Ryan, Los Angeles Times
