An Irvine man has been charged by police with being a suspected serial rapist, ABC News reports.
Authorities allege he is responsible for three separate Orange County rape cases. He is being held without bail.
Sex crimes in Irvine and throughout Orange County can sometimes be difficult to prove. With DNA evidence technology, authorities can sometimes have a better chance at a conviction, but even that can be disproven with an experienced and aggressive Irvine Sex Crimes Defense Attorney.
According to the news article, police believe the 29-year-old is responsible for three rapes in Irvine and Newport Beach between 2005 and 2010. According to police, they discovered DNA and fingerprints from a suspect in rapes in both cities, yet had no one matching the DNA or prints in any law enforcement databases.
The alleged rapes occurred on May 20, 2005 in Newport Beach, in Irvine on Nov. 30, 2006 and in the same Irvine apartment complex on July 7, 2010. In each of the cases, victims were unable to provide a description of the suspect because his face was covered, police said.
This June, police received a call of a suspicious person in the area. After beefing up patrols, especially at night, the 29-year-old was one of the people seen in the area. It’s unclear whether he willingly provided a fingerprint, but the story says a fingerprint in the Newport Beach case was linked to the man and that print matched the two found in the Irvine investigations.
Rape in California is defined as an act of sexual intercourse with a person other than a spouse where the person is incapable because of a mental disorder to give consent, it is against the person’s will due to force, violence or injury or where the person is intoxicated and couldn’t resist.
Under California law, rape is considered a violent felony and punishable under the state’s Three Strike Laws. A person convicted of rape can face up to 8 years in prison and must register as a sexual offender for life.
As previously discussed on the California Criminal Defense Attorney Blog, sex crimes are more serious than most crimes on the books. Because of their nature, someone convicted of these types of crimes are punished beyond the prison sentence they receive. One must also register as a sex offender, leaving their picture, address, identifying marks and other information on state and national web sites forever.
While other crimes allow for punishment and once the time is served, the person can move on with life, sex crimes punish a person forever. They must always notify law enforcement when they move and neighbors may fliers telling them the person is moving nearby.
It is humiliating and crimes of this nature must be aggressively defended. DNA can be disproven if the state lacks concrete evidence or improperly investigated the case and eye witness testimony can often be spotty, especially in cases where violence was involved. How police handled the case and obtained evidence can also be scrutinized for errors — a successful motion to suppress evidence can lead to a reduction or dismissal of the charges. All areas of these serious charges should be analyzed by an aggressive Irvine Criminal Defense Lawyer.
Contact an Orange County criminal defense attorney at (714) 705-6701 as soon as possible if you are charged with a crime. Protecting your rights and setting up an aggressive defense at the beginning stages is critical in defending against criminal charges.
Orange County Sex Crimes Stay With a Defendant Forever: July 27, 2011
Retired Huntington Park Police Chief Gets Sweet Deal in Lewd Photos Case: July 11, 2011