Скачать или смотреть Soliciting a Minor in San Diego – Law Office of David P. Shapiro

David P. Shapiro, Criminal Attorney, frankly discusses the serious charges of solicitation of a minor to commit a lewd act in San Diego.

Law Office of David P. Shapiro
3500 5th Avenue
Suite 304
San Diego, CA 92103
619-295-3555
https://www.davidpshapirolaw.com/san-...

Hi, my name is David P. Shapiro. I am a San Diego based criminal attorney. I'm also the owner and managing partner of the Law Office of David P. Shapiro.

Today, I want to discuss with you the Penal Code Section 288.3; Soliciting a Minor to Commit a Crime or Soliciting a Minor to Commit a Lewd Act. A lot of times what we see in these types of situations are individuals who may be having an inappropriate communication, whether it's through text message, whether it's through social media with the minor, and they try and entice or ask that minor to commit a lewd act whether it's to send a video of themselves in a naked state, whether it's to send an inappropriate photograph of themselves, or whether or not it's to even actually meet up with the adult for an inappropriate sexual act. You think like, "To Catch a Predator" type things that we see on TV a lot.

That's a charge that's being prosecuted quite frequently and actually more frequently over the past couple of years, particularly in San Diego. Our firm's had several of these cases over the past couple of years, where someone's in a situation where they're talking to a teenager, someone 17, 16 years old, that they met or they may know through their family, and then next thing you know, they're sending naked pictures to one another, and the kid's mom finds out about it, reports him to law enforcement.

At first glance, a lot of people may think, “Okay, well, I messed up. I know I made a mistake. But it's not like I did anything, it's not like we met. You know, it's not like we actually had sex.” And yeah, I mean, obviously, of the two, you'd rather not let it go that far, but, what I could tell you is under the law, under Penal Code Section 288.3, a lot of times your punishment is actually the same as if the act was in fact committed. So yeah, it helps that you might not have actually met with the minor, but it's not a defense. It's not really the greatest mitigant in the world, meaning that you're still going to get punished rather severely. You're still likely going to have to register as a sex offender; whether it's for life, whether it's for 20 years, whether it's for 10 years. At least 10 or 20 years. So it's something to be taken seriously. It's something that you do not want to do law enforcement or the district attorney's job for them. You don't want to be in a situation where you voluntarily allow them access to your cell phone, where they're going to find damning evidence against you. You're not going to want to give an interview with law enforcement or the prosecutor's office, where you're going to admit and hope that they take it easy on you, thinking that admitting to a very serious crime is going to somehow give you some benefit later on when you're charged and ultimately convicted of a crime.

Keep your mouth closed. Take these charges seriously. Hire a quality, local, experienced criminal defense firm to advise you on the steps that you could take to regain control of your future. Whether it's proactively seeking treatment while the case is pending, whether it's taking the case to a preliminary hearing, or to trial, possibly fighting it all the way, or whether it's negotiating a favorable plea bargain, whatever is in your best interest -- can't know that if you don't hire a good lawyer.

We can be reached at 619-295-3555 if you or a loved one find yourself in situations in San Diego, being charged with crimes of soliciting a minor to commit a lewd act.