Our Santa Ana sex crimes criminal defense attorneys were interested to read that U.S. authorities have successfully extradited a man from Mexico to face serious criminal charges here. According to the Orange County Register, Daniel Morales was returned to Orange County this month after six years on the lam in Mexico. He is accused of attempting to rape an unnamed female relative and her child in Laguna Niguel in 2004. Mexican authorities found him in Mexicali, a city just over the border from Calexico in Imperial County east of San Diego. Morales is charged with attempted rape and attempted sodomy on the adult victim and attempted lewd acts on a child for the minor victim. He also faces charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. His first court appearance is July 16.
According to the FBI, Morales broke into the victims' home in March of 2004. As the adult victim attempted to reach the phone to call authorities, Morales allegedly tried to sexually assault her. He then allegedly pulled the phone from the wall to prevent a call to police. He then attempted to rape and sodomize her, the FBI said. After this, Morales is accused of tying the adult victim up with bedclothes while he also attempted to rape and sodomize a minor living in the home. It's unclear how they escaped, but Morales allegedly fled to Mexico to avoid criminal prosecution, and authorities found him in Mexicali this month. He is currently in the Men's Central Jail in Santa Ana awaiting trial. If convicted, Morales faces decades in federal prison.
One aspect of this case that caught the attention of our Corona sex crimes criminal defense lawyers is that Morales is mainly accused of attempted crimes. Attempted crimes are crimes that the accused intended to commit and took a direct step to commit, but did not succeed in. The penalty for an attempted felony in California is generally half of what the penalty would be if the crime had been completed. This could mean serious prison time in the case against Morales -- up to 12 years for attempted felony lewd acts on a child, felony forcible sodomy and felony rape. Failing to complete the crime is not a defense in itself, although defendants may be able to convince a jury that they chose not to complete it. In addition, we think this case shows that fleeing to Mexico is not a good idea in criminal cases. Mexico will extradite almost any defendant to the U.S. and enjoys the same privileges here, and people extradited will find that they now face an additional charge for fleeing.
Howard Law, P.C. represents clients who are accused of sex crimes, from relatively minor crimes like consensual statutory rape or indecent exposure to serious crimes that could put the accused on the sex offender rolls for life. Our society reacts very strongly and negatively to people who are accused of sex crimes, and unfortunately, that tends to teach defendants who their true friends really are. People accused can face a flood of negative publicity and public consequences long before their cases see a courtroom. Our Rialto sex crimes criminal defense attorneys aggressively protect clients in this situation, defending professional and personal lives as well as the criminal case against them. We prefer to get involved as early as possible in the case so we can protect clients from reporters and negative publicity and the embarrassment of a public arrest.
If you're accused of a sex crime in California, you should contact Howard Law, P.C. as soon as possible. To set up a free, confidential evaluation of your case, contact us online or call 1-800-872-5925.
