Vista Jury Returns Not-Guilty Verdicts on 37 Counts of Sexual Abuse Charges

Dec. 18, 2012 - PRLog -- Vista, California – The city of Vista, California, is located in North San Diego, California; its courthouse has a reputation for being the toughest courthouse in all of San Diego to try a case. The judges, the deputy district attorneys, and the juries at this courthouse are all known for being some of the toughest in all of San Diego, California. The criminal defense attorneys in the area know that the Vista courthouse is one of the most challenging places to try a case, especially a case involving child sexual assault charges where the jury has little sympathy for those accused of such heinous crimes.

A 62-year-old businessman was charged with 37 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, forcible oral copulation, forcible rape, and forcible child molestation of his now 20-year-old daughter. The defendant’s daughter claimed that he sexually abused her from ages 12 to 16.

The allegations against the defendant were extremely severe, including that the defendant forced his daughter to perform oral copulation, physical abuse (claiming he hit her with a baseball bat on the knees), and threats to kill her if she ever told anyone. The details of her “alleged accounts” were by all means gruesome and appalling, and one of the worst child molestation cases in the defense attorney’s career.

If the 62-year-old defendant was convicted on all 37 counts, he faced a total term of 348 years to life. It seemed like only fate that this particularly challenging case would end up in the Vista courthouse, the courthouse that has a reputation for being one of the toughest courthouses in all of San Diego County. The defendant hired San Diego criminal defense attorney Kerry L. Armstrong to defend him against his charges.

This sexual abuse case was, at its core, a matter of “he said/she said,” as many sexual abuse cases are. Attorney Armstrong cross-examined the daughter for a total of three-and-a-half hours, catching a number of inconsistencies in her story, and demonstrating that she had a motive to lie about her father. (She was aware that her father was cheating on her mother). However, the case hit a snag due to the fact that there were hundreds of incest anime photos found on two of the computers that were regularly used by the defendant.

The client testified that his son or his son’s friends must have been viewing the images on his computers. When his son testified, he claimed to have no interest in such photos and claimed his father had to be the one downloading the images.

The honorable Judge Runston Maino allowed deputy district attorney Tracy Prior to cross-examine the client about his multiple prostitution solicitations dating as far back as 12 years earlier. The defendant had also spoken directly to a detective from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department a number of times before hiring attorney Armstrong. During those candid interviews, the defendant admitted to having a “sex addiction,” an admission that Judge Maino allowed to be used against the defendant.

Additionally, the defendant openly admitted to filing a “false” divorce petition against his wife in 2006 to appease his mistress. He filed the fake divorce petition in the Vista courthouse under penalty of perjury. The defendant admitted to filing the petition, but he said that he never actually served his wife; he filed the papers to convince his girlfriend that he was finally leaving his wife. The deputy district attorney found this evidence and hammered the defendant about lying under penalty of perjury to quiet his girlfriend.

Attorney Armstrong noted that Tracy Prior gave one of the best closing arguments he had ever heard. Armstrong said that Prior was organized, professional, well-prepared, and methodical. Fortunately, the defendant admitted to all of his transgressions on the stand and assumed full responsibility for the affair during the testimony. However, this man was still facing 37 counts for forcible molestation and rape of a family member, so there was still an enormous cause for concern.  (There were 38 counts facing the client when the trial began, but one count was dismissed by the prosecutor near the end of the trial.)

The jury deliberated for parts of three days for a total of about eight hours.  While attorney Armstrong was in the midst of trying his next case (this one a downtown child molest case), he received news from Vista that the jury returned with NOT-GUILTY verdicts on all 37 counts against his client.

There is no question that Armstrong’s client was facing some of the most horrific criminal charges that anyone could possibly face, especially considering the fact that these false allegations were made by his very own daughter. However, while this is one of the worst child molestation cases Armstrong has ever tried, it is not uncommon for ex-spouses, or even family members to falsely accuse others of some of the most heinous crimes when there are bitter emotions over a torn family involved.

While Armstrong’s client was guilty of adultery, it did not make him a child molester or someone that was guilty of incest or child pornography. Despite the man’s transgressions with the “other woman,” and despite the fact that he admitted to being a sex addict, and despite the fact that he was facing 37 counts in one of the toughest San Diego courthouses, attorney Armstrong was able to present a compelling argument before the jury, which ultimately saw through all the lies and handed down the ultimate verdict, not-guilty on all 37 counts! This successful case win was by far one of the greatest victories in Armstrong’s esteemed career.

Kerry L. Armstrong practices criminal defense in San Diego, California. Over his career, he has handled hundreds of misdemeanor and felony cases all throughout California on the state and federal level, including first degree murder. Since becoming licensed to practice in 1998, he has handled numerous high-profile cases in San Diego; his cases have been featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune, on CNN, MSNBC, Court TV, NBC Nightly News, Nancy Grace, and a number of major U.S. newspapers. In 2003, he was featured on Law & Order: Crime & Punishment, and he has appeared on numerous local TV news stations as a legal analyst. He has also lectured at Thomas Jefferson School of Law on legal writing and ethics. To schedule a consultation with attorney Armstrong, please call (616) 268-4682 or go online at http://www.sandiegodefenselawfirm.com.