Our Corona sex crimes criminal defense attorneys were interested to see a recent article about the resurrection of a rape charge that was once dismissed. The Orange County Register reported May 5 that David Jeffrey McKee has lost a bid to dismiss the second rape charge against him. McKee is accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met at a bar in Newport Beach while she was asleep. He had previously been charge with the rape of someone too drunk to consent, but that charge was dismissed by a previous judge concerned about inconsistent statements made by the woman. The new case accuses McKee only of raping someone who was not conscious.
McKee, 26, is a goaltender for the Allen Americans, a minor league hockey team. He was visiting a Newport Beach bar in 2006 when he met the woman, identified here as Jane Doe. He was among a group of people who went to Doe's home after leaving the bar. Prosecutors allege that sometime that night, McKee sneaked into Doe's room and raped her as she slept. Doe has testified that the incident "felt like I was having a sex dream" and that she didn't know it was real. McKee's attorney argued that the charge should be dismissed because Doe was clearly aware of the incident and conscious. The prosecutor in the case says Doe was asleep when the incident began, which is enough for the charge. The judge ruled in the prosecutor's favor, saying he didn't see consent in the situation.
As Garden Grove sex crimes criminal defense lawyers, we believe this is another illustration that prosecutions for sex crimes depend largely on the credibility of the people involved. The only people involved in the act were Doe and McKee, and now they have different accounts of what happened. One of them must be telling less than the truth, and that means credibility will play a key role in the outcome of the trial, along with circumstantial evidence. California state law makes it illegal to perform sexual intercourse with anyone who is unconscious or asleep, and Doe's testimony shows that she wasn't entirely unconscious during the entire act. The question for jurors to answer is whether they believe she was unconscious when the act began, and ultimately, they will have to decide whether to believe her or McKee on that issue.
At Howard Law, P.C., we defend all sex crimes with the credibility and reputations of our clients in mind. In our experience as Laguna Woods sex crimes criminal defense attorneys, many sex crimes end up prosecuted in "the court of public opinion" long before they go to a real trial, because of the media circus that surrounds certain charges. To avoid this, we help clients from the beginning by arranging for them to cooperate with police, avoiding the need for a showy arrest. Once charges are filed, we can build our case around all of the evidence at hand, including statements from the accuser, physical and chemical evidence and psychiatric examinations where appropriate. A rape charge is a felony carrying three to eight years in prison, so it's essential to mount a strong defense to any unjustified charges.
If you're accused of rape, child pornography or any other sex-related crime, don't wait before calling Howard Law, P.C. for help. To set up a free evaluation of your case, contact us online or call 1-800-872-5925 today.
