October 7, 2008

South Carolina Supreme Court Rules on Solicitation of Minor

The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled against William Gaines in his appeal of a jury verdict finding him guilty of Solicitation of a Minor. This is a relatively new statute in South Carolina. Gaines was charged with 3 counts of solicitation and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. This case presented several trial issues that were appealed. The most interesting issue was the attempted use of the entrapment defense. Gaines was solicited by law enforcement after he reached out to what he thought was a minor in Philadelphia.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) then made contact to Gaines via the internet. They portrayed themselves as a 13 year old girl in Columbia, South Carolina. The trial court allowed Gaines messaging to the Philadelphia police to be admitted to the South Carolina jury, even though Gaines was not charged with a crime related to these communications.
Next, the court ruled that Gaines was not entitled to the entrapment instruction to the jury. The court rule that for entrapment to be presented the defendant must show some government inducement and lack of predisposition to commit the crime by the defendant. In this case, the State and Court are relying on Gaines prior actions to defeat his request for the entrapment instruction. If there is any doubt about the giving of the instruction, it should be given.

The South Carolina Statue on Solicitation is as follows:
"(A) A person eighteen years of age or older commits the offense of criminal solicitation of a minor if he knowingly contacts or communicates with, or attempts to contact or communicate with, a person who is under the age of eighteen, or a person reasonably believed to be under the age of eighteen, for the purpose of or with the intent of persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing the person to engage or participate in a sexual activity as defined in Section 16-15-375(5) or a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60, or with the intent to perform a sexual activity in the presence of the person under the age of eighteen, or person reasonably believed to be under the age of eighteen. (emphasis supplied)."

A good Columbia criminal defense lawyer would have to make every effort to ensure that the entrapment defense is viable and the jury instructions is read. There are only a few defenses to solicitation of a minor. Alibi, entrapment, misidentification and legal impossibility. These defenses must be examined by the criminal defense lawyer.

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August 18, 2008

Green Sea Man Charged with Rape

A Green Sea resident has been charged with rape according to the Sun News. The man is charged with kidnapping and then sexually assaulting a local resort house keeper. The early information is that the alleged victim received a ride from the defendant and later exited the car. The victim was then take by knife to a location where she was sexually assaulted. As yet the defendant does not have an attorney. The defendant's bond is set at $100,000.00. This bond was set by the local magistrate. If he makes bond the defendant will also be supervised by an ankle monitor.

Kidnapping and sexual assault charges do not carry a bond in many States. In Florida, there is no bond and these considered capital crimes depending on the age of the victim. South Carolina criminal defense attorneys are able to request and many times receive bonds for serious offenses before magistrates and Circuit Judges.

In this case, DNA evidence will be critical to the prosecution and the defense. Any DNA evidence combined with any signs of a struggle will form the basis for any good defense or any good prosecution of this case. The Prosecutor does not want this to be a "He Said, She Said," type prosecution. There should always be physical evidence to support any type of sexual assault case.

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July 20, 2008

A pageant official for Miss South Carolina arrested for sex crime

A recent report in Charleston, SC states that a pageant official for Miss South Carolina has been arrested for the sexual assault of a nine year old girl. According to a police report in Easley, Joseph "joey" Pettigrew Sanders IV allegedly sexually assaulted the child at a Comfort inn in 2005.

When charged with a sex crime, including sexual assault, rape or child pornography, it is important to review all the evidence and any witness statements. These cases often go to trial, so it is important to throughly prepare the case for court.

South Carolina is one of 7 states that does not allow child hearsay testimony. Many states have an exception for the hearsay rule for minors based on the notion that children are less likely to lie than adults. Even though South Carolina does not provide for this exception, legislation was recently passed relaxing the ban to child hearsay and may be completely removed by 2009.

Sawyer's attorney has stated that his client will be exonerated of the charges, so this case is most likely headed for court. His defense attorney will review the evidence to determine what parts are circumstantial and whether the solicitor's office has any solid evidence.


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June 14, 2008

R. Kelly Found Not Guilty

In the latest super star criminal trial, R. Kelly, has been found not guilty. This is a very large upset for the prosecutors on this case. This was great work on behalf of the defense lawyers involved in the case. Mr. Kelly was charged with violation of child pornography laws. With no witness to come forward and testify that he had sex with a minor except a woman who was apparently part of threesome with Kelly, there was little the prosecutor could do with a rape charge. However, with the child pornography charge, it is typical that the victim does not testify. Many times the victim is not even in this country. The United States and several other countries keep a database of minors that are used in child pornography rings. This database allows them to determine the approximate age of the children in the video or photographs.

The criminal defense attorneys in this case were very smart in their theory of defense and their trial strategy. They were also very lucky in having a judge that allowed the case to go on for so many years. Most judges would not have allowed this case to be continued for over 2 years. There may be issues that I am unaware of, but a case pending for over 4 years is very rare.

The Feds may come knocking. Mr. Kelly should be very careful with his new freedom. He is still exposed to Federal child pornography laws. The United States Attorney can also prosecute him for possession and production of child pornography. The penalties in the federal system provide for much more severe sanctions than in the state systems. Good defenses to this are hard to find. Many times the possession of child pornographic material on a computer is enough to open up a client to substantial prison time. Detroit's United States Attorney office has a division dedicated to child pornography and travel to engage in illicit sexual acts with minors. This division has several sting operations on the internet and over the phone that are used to get defendant's to travel across state lines in order to have sex with minors and trade child pornography on the internet. As a criminal defense lawyer on these cases, the primary defenses are entrapment, lack of knowlege and no specific intent. Defending clients in South Carolina, Florida and Michigan in the past several years has provided some good results for our clients.

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