Articles Posted in Sex Crimes

Arthur Leroy Shoot was returning home from a trip to the Philippines in September of 2008, when custom officials at Los Angeles International Airport decided to search his luggage. While searching through Shoot’s phone, officials discovered four sexually explicit pictures of a young girl. After further investigation, investigators determined that the child in the photographs was his 7-year-old niece and that Shoot had taken these pictures for his own sexual gratification. He was arrested and charged with a sex crime and was just recently sentenced to 17 years in prison. In his past, Shoot was charged with three counts of child molestation, two of which were against his daughters. He received jail times for those offenses as well.

Sex crimes can range from possession of child pornography to rape. Sentences may range from probation to decades in prison. California is very strict on suspects of rape and child molestation and will ensure that the defendant gets the highest penalties possible. Whether you live in Irvine, Fullerton or Santa Ana, if you are charged with sex crimes, you will need an experienced defense attorney to assist you. The defense attorney will fully investigate the claims and evidence against you in order to prepare a successful defense.

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Joshua David Threlkeld has been charged with around 127 counts of sex crimes against minors. Threlkeld would pose as a 14 year-old-girl, “Sara Miller”, on Myspace and ask other minors for nude pictures. “Sara Miller” would claim that he wanted the pictures to recruit models for her friend Josh who was a photographer in Orange County. Over 80 victims from ages 11-17 sent in their nude pictures and some actually came to Orange County to be photographed. One of the girls who came to Orange County said she was paid to have sex with Threlkeld.

Threlkeld was arrested in May after a parent complained to police about the Myspace incident. After obtaining Threlkeld’s computer, police founds files of photographs and discovered other victims. Some of the victims contacted were from as far away as the U.K. Police also obtained the Myspace records and plan to prosecute Threlkeld for every attempt at getting nude photographs.

With over 127 charges, Threlkeld faces multiple life sentences for his actions. Even though most of these girls were not physically assaulted, creating or owning child pornography is against the law. Whether you live in Santa Ana, Fullerton or Villa Park, if you have been charged with sex crimes, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away.

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Naomi Perez was a teacher at Saddleback High School in Santa Ana while allegedly having an intimate relationship with one of her students over the summer. At the end of August, Perez and the student broke it off and allegedly Perez vandalized the student’s car. The student reported the vandalism which triggered an investigation that led to the accusations against Perez. She was charged with three felony counts of sex related crimes and a misdemeanor vandalism count. Since the accusations, Saddleback High School terminated her from her position. If she is convicted of these crimes, she faces around 4 years in prison.

Sex with a minor is always illegal, regardless if it is consensual or non-consensual. Lately, we have been hearing more stories about teachers sleeping with their children and most of us do not understand how this happens. The teacher may feel that since the student is initiating the relationship, it is legal, but it’s not, and it is their responsibility to make sure no relationship ever starts. A possible defense to a claim of child molestation/sexual assault is if the adult does not know the child’s real age and thinks they are over 18. In this case, since this student was still in high school, that defense will likely fail. Whether you live in Tustin, Villa Park or San Clemente, if you are charged with sex crimes, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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This week, Army Spc. Jason Scofield, 37, was charged with eight felony counts of sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old. Before joining the army, Scofield was a gymnastics instructor in Tustin. Allegedly, earlier this year, Scofield had a three-month-long intimate relationship with a 16-year-old girl he met while working as an instructor. After the relationship ended, the girl told a friend, who told her parents and the relationship was eventually reported to police. At the time police had enough evidence to arrest him, he had joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Arizona, so they arrested him there and extradited him to California. He is currently out on bail and his arraignment hearing is scheduled for December. If Scofield is convicted of all eight charges, he is facing up to seven years and eight months in prison.

Scofield is facing serious charges and needs an experienced defense attorney right away. One possible defense to the charge of sexual assault with a minor is if the suspect did not know the girl was under 18. Often times, the charge of sexual assault with a minor is brought even though there was a consensual intimate relationship between the suspect and the victim. If both of these people were over 18, Scofield would not be guilty of any crime. Unfortunately for him, she was under 16 and if he is convicted of this crime, he will no longer be able to be in the Army or be a gymnastics instructor.

Whether you live in Lake Forest, Irvine or Villa Park, if you are charged with sex crimes, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away.

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Christopher John Ontiveros was arrested this week for allegedly assaulting a female student from the Oxford Academy in Cypress, a school that has been voted best high school in Orange County for two years in a row. Ontiveros is an AP European and U.S. history teacher and his wife is a physical education teacher at the school. Investigators claim that they believe Ontiveros had been having inappropriate sexual contact with a minor for a few months. After they gathered enough evidence, officers arrested Ontiveros on suspicion of felony sexual assault, felony battery, sexual communication with a minor, grooming a minor and child annoyance. He has not yet been charged.

With such serious charges against Ontiveros, he is looking at serious prison time if he is convicted of all of these crimes. Even though the relationship with the minor may have been consensual, having an intimate relationship with anyone under 18 is considered statutory rape/sexual assault. Whether you live in Newport Beach, Laguna Woods or La Palma, if you are charged with sex crimes, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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Oscar David Duenas has been arrested on suspicion of raping 3 prostitutes in the Garden Grove area in the last month. Allegedly, Duenas would pick up prostitutes along Harbor Boulevard in Westminster and then take them to a secluded area and rape them. These prostitutes reported the sexual assaults and an investigator noticed that the description of the crime and the suspect matched other rape complaints. Police arrested Duenas last week on rape charges and he is expected to be arraigned next week on charges of rape, false imprisonment and robbery.

Often, prostitutes are afraid to report physical or sexual abuse because of their illegal occupation. Here, it is not clear if the prostitutes will be charged or if there is a credibility issue due to their profession. If you are charged with rape, an experienced attorney will investigate the claims and the evidence against you. If there is a credibility issue with the witnesses, the defense attorney will use that to your advantage in hopefully lowering or dropping the charges against you. Whether you live in Irvine, Aliso Viejo or Fullerton, if you are charged with rape, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you in your legal matters.

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Ronaldo Celedon Vicente was convicted this week of first degree residential burglary, attempted rape and assault with intent to commit rape. In 2008, Vicente, an unemployed laborer, saw a path of empty beer cans and Cheetos in the front yard of an Anaheim home. He followed the trail and it led him to an open window on the side of the house. Inside, he saw a half naked woman and thought she wanted to have sex with him. He crawled through the window and was about to have sex with the woman, when her husband woke up and yelled. The husband and wife then beat up the intruder and held him until police came and arrested him.

Vicente’s defense was that he was so severely intoxicated that he did not know what he was doing and therefore did not have the intent to rape her. Hours after he was arrested, police checked Vicente’s blood alcohol level and it was at a .22%. The jury ruled against the defendant and convicted him of all the above charges. He may be sentenced to life in prison since this was a felony burglary and rape.

Burglary is the act of entering someone’s home with the intent to commit a crime while inside. Possible defenses include the lack of intent, a mistake of fact and consent. Whether you live in Orange, Brea or Santa Ana, if you are charged with burglary or rape, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away.

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Tooraj Aghminyoni Nakhei, of Oregon, met a woman in 2003 that he started to date online. In 2007, Nakhei flew from Oregon to Orange County to meet this woman. She agreed to meet him in a Costa Mesa hotel restaurant for dinner. He then told her he had flowers for her in his room, so she followed him up and he then raped her. She said she felt so embarrassed that she did not report the rape right away.

Over the next year and a half, the victim claims that Nakhei kept calling her and emailing her and her family. In December of 2007, the victim noticed Nakhei stalking her so she got a restraining order against him. He kept telling her not to tell police what happened and would sometimes be apologetic, while other times being aggressive and rude. In March of this year, he tried to get into her car and that is when she called police and reported the incident.

An Orange County jury found Nakhei guilty of felony forcible rape, felony forcible oral copulation, felony stalking, felony dissuading a witness from reporting a crime and a misdemeanor charge of disobeying a court order. This week, he was sentenced to 15 years and four months in prison.

Whether you live in Fullerton, La Palma or Laguna Niguel, if you are charged with rape, call an experienced Orange County criminal defense attorney right away.

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Amonullah Sakhi was taken into custody this week on suspicion of indecent exposure. A woman walking to her child’s elementary school in September claimed she saw Sakhi standing in his door way staring at her. When she looked over at him, he exposed himself. When Sakhi was arrested, he admitted he had done this to several women as they walked by. If convicted for these charges, he may have to spend time in jail, pay fines and take workshops and classes.

In 2004, Sakhi plead guilty to two counts of lewd conduct in public. Sakhi is not on the sex offender list since lewd conduct does not require registration. Indecent exposure is a serious crime because it is often beleived that people who exhibit this type of behavior are also more prone to rape and molest. Whether you live in Brea, Newport Beach or Dana Point, if you are charged with sex crimes, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you in fighting these charges or lowering your sentence.

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Mark Petrash, a music teacher at Serrano Intermediate School in Lake Forest, was arrested last week on suspicion of flashing a woman. In August, Petrash went to the doctor’s office with a relative. While there, allegedly he pulled his pants down in front of the medical office receptionist. The claim was investigated and he was arrested after there was enough evidence to suspect him of indecent exposure. Comments from readers on the OC Register news article claim that Petrash was not that kind of man and would not have done something like this.

Indecent exposure is when a person exposes himself to a third party and the third party is offended or when the person is trying to get sexually aroused or annoy another party by exposing themseves. If Petrash is convicted of this crime, he will likely have to register as a sex offender and will be fired from his teaching position. Whether you live in Irvine, Santa Ana or Brea, if you are charged with sex crimes, call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you.

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