Personal Injury and Criminal Defense Legal Blog
Seattle Soccer Player Accused of Rape
Seattle’s local ABC affiliate KOMO-TV, channel 4, recently reported in an account that a 27-year-old Major League Soccer player has been accused of sexually assaulting a female student from the University of Oregon. The supposed sexual assault took place on July 1, 2007 in Eugene, Oregon.
The alleged victim met the athlete at Rennie’s Landing, a bar in Eugene, while she was with her school’s soccer team. The woman left the bar around midnight, and began walking alone to her home, also in Eugene. The woman was then allegedly approached by the athlete, who supposedly asked if he could walk with her for a while. The woman agreed to his company. Reportedly, as the two walked by a cemetery, the athlete, according to the woman, “subjected her to a brutal, forcible sexual assault,” which included rape.
The woman filed a lawsuit in Multnomah County and is seeking damages amounting to $10 million for the physical and emotional pain that she suffered, in addition to decreased quality of life that she now endures. A high profile case in and of itself in that in involves a professional athlete, the case is the largest sexual assault lawsuit in the history of Major League Soccer.
Though the circumstances of this attack were not more specifically discussed, particularly whether or not alcohol played a factor, investigation will hopefully accurately reveal what happened exactly. Regardless of true circumstance, in all criminal defense cases, it is important to retain the services of an experienced criminal defense attorney that can sort through the details to determine the true nature of the supposed crime. The Seattle sex crimes defense attorneys at McNeese & Trotsky will handle every aspect of your case, and can be the difference between a conviction and your personal freedom. If you or a loved one has been accused of sexual assault, please don’t hesitate to call our skilled attorneys for a free consultation.
6 Year Old Rape Case Solved by DNA
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office recently arrested a 40-year-old man from Lynwood for the sexual assault in Washington of a 13-year-old girl. The rape case was 6 years old, and DNA evidence recently surfaced that linked the man to the crime. The man was arrested near his apartment without incident.
The Lynwood man had been arrested for drunk driving in 2008, and agreed to give a DNA sample at that time. The sample was put into the FBI database, and was declared a match to DNA samples found at the scene of the rape, which occurred at the victim’s house. Though the man had previously been convicted of burglary, he had never been charged with a sex crime.
According to the police report, the man broke into the home and sexually assaulted the girl while two of her friends slept soundly nearby. The man threatened the victim, raped her, and then fled the scene of the incident. Though DNA evidence has been gathered at the scene, police were unable to link the evidence to any individual who was currently in their database, and the case eventually grew stagnant until the emergence of matching evidence from the drunken driving arrest.
In cases that take a number of years to solve, a variety of factors can have a significant role in determining who the perpetrator is. Evidence may be lost or tampered with, witnesses may second guess their accounts and change the details of what they remember, and other circumstances surrounding the case might be neglected in lieu of supposed new and accurate evidence. In the event that you or a loved one has been accused of a crime that occurred years prior to arrest, please don’t hesitate to contact the criminal defense lawyers in Seattle at McNeese & Trotsky. Our skilled lawyers will examine the details of your case, and will see to it that your rights are not infringed upon in a court of law. Please call us for a free evaluation of your case, and we will work towards clearing your name once and for all.