Not Guilty: Attorney Goldstein Obtains Full Acquittal in Rape Case
Criminal Defense Lawyer Zak T. Goldstein, Esquire
Philadelphia criminal defense attorney Zak T. Goldstein, Esquire, recently obtained a full acquittal in a rape case. In Commonwealth v. P.S., the defendant was charged in Philadelphia with rape of a child and related charges for allegedly assaulting his biological daughter. According to the complainant, the assaults began when she was between the ages of 3 - 5 and continued until she was about 13 or 14. She did not report them until she was around 16, but prosecutors arrested P.S. and charged him with a number of sex crimes.
P.S. retained Attorney Goldstein to defend against the allegations. Attorney Goldstein investigated the case, obtained discovery from the District Attorney’s Office, and learned that the complainant’s mother, from whom the client had separated shortly before the allegations were first made in Family Court, had been claiming that P.S. assaulted the complainant for years. Attorney Goldstein investigated further and obtained family court transcripts which showed that the complainant had told judges that the assaults did not actually happen and that there was a lengthy history of litigation over child custody and child support. The family court records showed that the complainant’s mother had made these unfounded allegations supposedly on behalf of her daughter anytime she wanted to deny P.S. from having custody, but she had continued to let him see her and had never gone to the police. This behavior obviously did not make sense if the mother believed that child abuse was actually occurring.
P.S. proceeded to trial before a judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. The complainant testified that P.S. assaulted her, but her testimony differed wildly from what she had told social workers in a videotaped interview which took place at the Philadelphia Children’s Alliance. Through cross-examination, Attorney Goldstein was able to show that P.S.’s story had changed repeatedly, she had previously told a judge that the assaults did not actually happen, all of her medical exams had been totally normal, and her mom had been telling her that her father had molested her since she was about three years old. Finally, when the complainant’s mother testified, it quickly became clear that she had fabricated the allegations by insisting that these horrible things happened only after she began suing P.S. for child custody and child support.
The trial judge promptly acquitted P.S. at the end of the one day waiver trial. The judge found that the allegations were fabricated and that the complainant’s mother had essentially traumatized her daughter and put her up to making the allegations. Instead of facing decades in prison and a lifetime of Megan’s Law registration, P.S. has now been found not guilty and will be eligible to have the charges expunged.
Allegations of child abuse and child sexual assault are among the most serious possible charges and the most difficult to defend. Judges and juries often have a difficult time believing that children could lie about something so horrible. Fortunately, our attorneys are experienced in investigating these cases and cross-examining the complainants and witnesses in order to effectively fight back against false charges. We have won many of these cases at preliminary hearings, at trial, on appeal, and in PCRA litigation.
Facing criminal charges? We can help.
Goldstein Mehta LLC Criminal Defense Attorneys
If you are facing criminal charges or under investigation by the police, we can help. We have successfully defended thousands of clients against criminal charges in courts throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We have successfully obtained full acquittals in cases involving charges such as Conspiracy, Aggravated Assault, Rape, and Murder. We have also won criminal appeals and PCRAs in state and federal court. Our award-winning Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers offer a free criminal defense strategy session to any potential client. Call 267-225-2545 to speak with an experienced and understanding defense attorney today.
