Articles Posted in Sexual Crimes

Well, Tuesday’s Boston Herald was not exactly complimentary to the medical profession on Tuesday as far as criminal justice goes. At least two reports of sex offenses were reflected therein. Of course, that was not the only profession so tarnished. In fact, it would appear that the news is full of such allegations from sports figures to teachers to…well…just about every profession.

For example, take the case of Boston’s Children’s Hospital’s own Dr. Richard J. Keller. This 56-year-old Andover resident has been a much respected physician specializing in pediatric cancer. Unfortunately, he has now also been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography.

While the indictment is new, the charges really are not. He was arrested back in September and has apparently consented to be held without bail pending trial. He is also said to have struck a voluntary agreement with the state Board of Registration in Medicine to cease practicing medicine.

According to the seven-page indictment, authorities say Keller was into watching videos of young boys severely mistreated.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth’s neighbor, Connecticut , apparently has an interesting kinda-sorta medical man in custody in connection with a more…creative…sex crime.

Actually, “kinda-sorta” in this case means “not at all”.

And that is the problem. Well, At least PART OF the problem.

Mr. David E. Anderson, 44, is now an involuntary guest of the state, held on $500,000 cash bail here in Massachusetts. Mr. Anderson is a resident of Newton, Connecticut, but apparently had an affinity for Massachusetts women. He is accused of luring women to his Salisbury beach location, passing himself off as a doctor and performing invasive examinations.

While secretly video-taping the examinations, of course.
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As promised, Attorney Sam’s Take continues this week’s discussion about what you should do if you find out that you have been accused of a Massachusetts sexual assault.

Obviously, the first thing you should do is retain experienced counsel to advise and represent you in the matter. I think I have pretty much exhausted most of the reasons why this is so important.

However, let’s assume that you have not yet been able to do so. What if the first you are hearing about the allegation is the investigator showing up at your door, or on your telephone, seeking to question you about it. You are stunned. You are not sure what to do. The calm officer is smiling and inviting you to give “your side” of the story. He even acts like he is likely to believe you.

The first inclination is to answer all your questions, either truthfully or not. My advise is to not do so until getting the services of a lawyer. However, if the investigator insists on saying a couple of things about the matter, it is ok to listen, not talk, to him. It may be some decent information you can bring to the lawyer. However, the trick is to not react.

“Why can’t I react?”

Because while you are trying to find out information from the investigator, she is trying to read you. And…you must assume…she is better trained at doing so.

Let’s say that you are told that some unnamed party has indicated that you sexually assaulted her.
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In my experience, this is the type of criminal allegation about which it is the hardest to “remain silent” about. Despite how many times these daily Attorney Sam’s Take blogs warn you to volunteer no statements to law enforcement before consulting experienced counsel, that advice seems to fly out of suspects’ heads as soon as the allegation flies in.

Perhaps it is the nature of the allegation. Maybe it is because the accusation of sexual assault is so inflammatory that even an acquittal often cannot undo the damage the mere allegation can bring upon your life. Even so, it is critical to remain as calm as possible when faced with such an allegation.

You might be surprised to think of all the ways such an allegation could come down the pike to obliterate life as you knew it. First of all, of course, you could have sexually assaulted someone. That will often bring the accusation. However, there are countless of other ways it might come.

Perhaps you had sexual relations with someone that was, you thought, consensual. Maybe it was not so consensual or it became not consensual retroactively after he or she had the chance to think about it. Perhaps you were both drunk and, after sobering up, or suddenly remembering a romantic partner, your rendezvous suddenly needed some explaining. Perhaps you had no romantic interlude, but slipped and accidently touched someone rather sensitive in a rather sensitive place. Maybe it was misinterpreted. Believe it or not, maybe there was no touching whatsoever that actually happened, but someone who wanted vengeance for some other reason decided to bring an allegation that you touched him or her.

The allegations could actually have nothing to do with romance or sex. Perhaps, for some other reason, you had occasion to touch someone in a sensitive place. Perhaps it was a child who was staying at your home. Perhaps there was the need to help change that child or give that child medicine in a manner other than orally. If the medication was given vaginally or through the rectum, that could be considered a rape.

So, the point is, however the accusation came about, what can you do about it? You know you cannot prove a negative. However, many people feel that if they simply “open up” to investigators, whether they be DCF or law enforcement, they will convince the investigator that their “truth” is the real truth. This is especially true when the investigator smiles, explains that they are only seeking the truth and feel they just need to get “your side of the story”. Then, once you give your thoughts about how you are innocent, they follow up with the catch-all non-answerable question, “Well, why do you think they would say this happened, if it did not happen?”
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As you have read in various Attorney Sam’s Takes in the past, it is like being accused of nothing else.

Somehow, any allegation of criminal acts involving sex bring with it shame, embarrassment and an even greater assumption of guilt.

After all, the age-old question of “Why would she lie?” is more prevalent in these types of cases than others.

And prostitution/human trafficking cases? Well, just being associated with a sex worker is enough to change your life as soon as word gets out.

So, what should you do when you are either being investigated or actually charged with one of these crimes?

Attorney Sam’s Take On Responding To Allegations Of Sexual Crimes

These cases tend to be loved by the media. Perhaps it is because people are titillated by them. Either way, the media takes notice when allegations of sex crimes (of any nature) are released. This brings even greater pressure on law enforcement to make an arrest and get a conviction.

And so, by the time you find out that you are about to be arrested, the investigation is usually complete and professional investigators and advocates have now put themselves in a position opposite you, smile and tell you that they simply want to know your side of things. The arena in which they do this, of course, is theirs.
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Yesterday, I left off responding to what I meant when I said that an arrest for engaging in the sex trade, either as consumer or worker, should be taken extremely seriously…which I will.

First, however, let’s look at yesterday’s court action with regard to the other side of the sexual crime coin. The crime of rape.

Yesterday, in Belchertown, MA,, the court heard the arraignment of four Pittsfield men (hereinafter, collectively, the “Defendants”) who stand accused of raping an 18-year-old University of Massachusetts Amherst student inside her dorm room on October 13th.

Bail was set at $10,000 cash for each of the Defendants. The judge also set conditions in the event they do post bail, ordering them, among other things, to undergo GPS monitoring, observe a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., and not to contact the alleged victim or witnesses.
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If you woke up this morning sensing a new era of safety and security in our society, you were right. Thanks to the never-ending struggle of brave champions against evil incarnate, law enforcement, we are free once again to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In other words, there has been another prostitution sting.

Three people, ranging from 37 to 55 years of age (hereinafter, collectively, the “Defendants”) were arraigned as last week came to a close in various district courts. The Defendants are accused of owning and operating massage parlors in Burlington, Needham, Revere, and Wellesley that were actually fronts for prostitution.

Facing high bail, the Defendants stand charged with one count of keeping a house of prostitution and two counts of sex trafficking. There is also talk that the Commonwealth may even be indicting the Defendants. As a result, the next court date is allegedly for a “Probable Cause Hearing”.

It has already been announced, though, that one of the Defendants cooperated after the arrest. Thus, that individual is likely to appear in the Grand Jury Minutes as a witness, not a defendant.

Announcing that in open court is fairly unusual in this type of case, but I am sure that Assistant Attorney General Deb Bercovitch had her reasons.
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Andrew J. Myers is in a great deal of trouble.

He lives in Worcester County’s Whitinsville Village
He leads a Boy Scout troop, teaches in the Northbridge school system and has served on its school committee.

He is a 34-year-old attorney who is hereinafter referred to as the “Defendant”.

The Defendant appeared for his initial appearance in Boston’s United States District Court today. He was arrested at his home and brought to the federal court. He has been charged with possessing child pornography and for allegedly enticing children into performing sex acts over the Internet.

The investigation involved both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as the Larimer County sheriff’s office in Colorado. The authorities in Colorado contacted the Northbridge police concerning a complaint that a 12-year-old boy in Colorado had been communicating via e-mail and Skype with a 33-year-old man. The man, they said, was identified as “Myers”. Assistance was sought in the investigation and so local authorities complied.

So did federal authorities.
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Well, the bad news from Boston’s law enforcement is that, despite all the information and conclusion of “gang activity” in connection with the killings of three females a little over a week ago…nobody has been arrested. On the other hand, Boston can now turn to the city of Cambridge as the latest media-worthy example of criminal repetition.

The matter(s) come from the campus of Harvard University. The school is scrambling to increase its security after two separate rapes were reported within the same week.

As one might imagine, the rapes are on the minds of those on campus, from students to tourists.

The first rape allegedly took place on August 10th as the woman entered the yard through Johnston Gate. Then, four days later, another woman reported being raped in the area of Oxford and Kirkland streets, near the school’s science center.

There is now a noticeable police presence on the campus, from cruisers to plainclothes officers, to uniformed officers and security guards.

The August 10th incident “was the first stranger rape we reported in over 12 years,” said Steven Catalano, public information officer for the Harvard University Police Department, referring to a sexual assault by someone unknown to the victim. He also reported that “We’re in the preliminary stages of the investigation, but the suspect descriptions do not match.”
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As we have discussed in the past, one never knows what is going to happen when a criminal matter makes its way through the criminal justice system. This is but one reason if any criminal attorney starts making guarantees as to a particular result to you…it is time to run as fast as you can away from that attorney.

Corey N. Trivino is 22 years old. Corey N. Trivino was the one-time top scorer for Boston University’s hockey team. Corey N. Trivinio is hereinafter referred to as the “Defendant”.

Actually, he is also now to be known as the probationer as of yesterday. You see, he has pleaded guilty to the crime of assault and battery. The case involved accosting the woman inside her dormitory room in December.

You see, according to the Commonwealth, the 23-year-old woman went to the Defendant’s door because of the noise. The Defendant, alleged to be drunk, then followed her back to her room. There, the 6-foot-1 190 pound athlete was alleged to have repeatedly tried to force himself on the woman.

More specifically, law enforcement reported that the Defendant refused to leave her room, started kissing her and groped her breast area.

Finally, perhaps suddenly overcome by a moment of good judgment, the Defendant left her room. However, once that moment’s inspiration left him, he returned to her door and banged upon it.

She opened the door slightly, but the Defendant apparently forced the door open and tried to kiss her. She managed to push him away. Despite her telling him to leave, the Defendant continued to kiss her until she was successful in pushing him out of the door.

Naturally, the Defendant returned yet again, forcing his way Continue reading

Attorney Sam returns to you today on the heels of a fairly long jury trial. I tell you this for two reasons. The first is by way of explanation as to why there were no blogs posted by me last week and yesterday’s blog is being posted today. As you know, my first responsibility must be to my clients and trial, which is basically war in the criminal justice trenches, takes a great deal of attention.

The second reason I share my recent battles is to tell you that the relationship between trial and discovery is ever-fresh in my mind.

We left off discussing what the Commonwealth can do to prevent the defense from getting discovery.

We have discussed the “why”. Now the “how”.

You might think, given our presumption of innocence and all, that the defendant’s right to a fair trial would be sacrosanct when it comes to preparing for and even conducting the trial. Well, the truth is that the defendant’s rights are not all that is considered. Weighed against that, rather heavily I might add, are the rights of other witnesses, particularly the complainant.

“You mentioned this last time, Sam. You wrote about the Commonwealth’s concern for the complainant’s safety.”

Yes, but that is not the only concern. You see, at least until we are defendants, we all have certain rights to privacy. This is a right of the complainant’s that can often prohibit a defendant’s right to discovery and, at times, a fair trial.
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