State v. Mr. L (DMC number 16289) – Felony Sexual Conduct with a Minor, Class 2 Felony & Sexual Abuse – Not Charged – Avondale Police Department Investigated (DR No. 20XX–XXXX6) & Maricopa County Attorney’s Office “Turned Down Charges”.
Mr. L retained our firm after his oldest adopted daughter, who he had raised since birth, made a false allegation against him. This allegation came after Mr. L and his wife were in the process of filing for Divorce. Given the Divorce proceedings, the accuser and her sister, who had been living with the mother, were uprooted from their mothers home and were now living with Mr. L. The girls were not thrilled with this decision as Mr. L had more strict rules than their mother did. Upon moving into Mr. L’s home, he sat them down and explained what would and would not be tolerated under his roof. That same night the girls went to bed; the youngest in a bedroom and the oldest on the couch, as they were still making arrangements to pull another bed into the children’s bedroom.
In the middle of the night, Mr. L woke up and found his eldest daughter, 15 years old, in bed with him. When he noticed this, he left the room allowing her to sleep there, while he slept on the couch. The next day, the 2 girls went to their mother’s hair salon and soon after, a friend came over and removed all of the accuser’s clothes and property from Mr. L’s home. That same day, Mr. L received a call from his wife where she advised him that his eldest daughter had accused him of touching her breasts and vaginal area, while in bed with her last night. Mr. L denied these allegations and immediately retained our firm.
Upon being retained, the Pre-Charge Team, met and discussed the allegations. We immediately requested a copy of the Police report and obtained information regarding an emergency Family Law hearing which was scheduled. We immediately reached out to the Detective assigned to the case, who told us she was going to be submitting the case to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for review. We emailed the Detective our clients notarized invocation of constitutional rights and then began preparing a detailed Trebus Bashir Letter to submit to the Detective and the County Attorney’s Office for review to make a determination on charging. The Trebus Bashir Letter detailed the relationship between Mr. L and his daughters, the litigious nature of the Divorce that was ongoing, his role as the more strict parent, and the accuser’s motive to make up the allegations to benefit her living situation. Additionally, the letter detailed how Mr. L’s now ex-wife had used these accusations to file an Emergency Petition in the Family Law case, seeking Sole Custody of the children.
After receiving our Trebus Bashir Letter, the Maricopa County Attorney assigned to review the case for charging made a decision to “turn down” the case for “no reasonable likelihood of conviction”.