State v. Mr. A (DMC No. 16790) – (2 Counts) Felony Child Sex Trafficking (Dangerous Crimes Against Children) – Dismissed (Due to Motion to Preclude Witness Testimony Issues) – Maricopa County Superior Court (Case No. CR2018-102396)
Mr. A was driving his truck near the area of 27th Avenue and Roma Drive in Phoenix, when he was approached by two females. They asked if they could have a ride, and then jumped into his car. One of the girls spoke English, and the other one only spoke Spanish. Mr. A also only spoke Spanish.
As they were driving, the girl who spoke English was allegedly soliciting prostitution, and she was underage. The friend that was with her spoke Spanish with Mr. A and supposedly came up with an agreement for him to pay $80 to the alleged victim for oral sex. Because of the language barrier, Mr. A never directly communicated with the alleged victim. While the girls entered into Mr. A’s car, they were observed by an Undercover Officer who followed them and pulled over Mr. A for a minor traffic violation. The Officer questioned the girls and they told him that Mr. A had agreed to sex for $80. Mr. A never admitted to doing any of this activity, and thought he was merely giving them a ride, and was going to get food with them. Even though Mr. A had asked for an Attorney, the Officers continued to interrogate him, and would not let him go to the restroom after he requested to do so three times.
DM Cantor was ultimately retained to defend Mr. A, and we interviewed all of the witnesses involved, except for the girl who allegedly acted as the translator. We then filed a Motion to Preclude her Testimony, due to the fact that she would not show up for a witness interview. Before the Oral Argument on our Motion to Preclude could be heard by the Judge, the State filed to Dismiss all Charges against Mr. A. We then argued that the State was merely trying to avoid Mr. A’s Rule 8 Speedy Trial Rights, and we asked for the case to be Dismissed with Prejudice. Although the Judge Dismissed the Case without Prejudice, No Charges were ever brought against Mr. A. He was facing mandatory Prison time, plus being required to Register as a Sex Offender. Instead, he has No Criminal Conviction on his Record.