LAPD Officer Accused Of Sexual Assault
LAPD Officer Accused Of Sexual Assault
Russell Mecano has been suspended from active duty after the grand jury indictments against him were unsealed by a judge in the Los Angeles Superior County Court. The indictment accuses Mecano of soliciting a homeless woman following her arrest for battery. Mecano reportedly gave the woman $200 and told her to meet him at a motel. Instead, the woman took a cab to a beach, and later reported the incident to the Santa Monica Police Department.
In the other incident, Mecano is accused of telling an 18-year-old woman that he would not arrest her for possessing a marijuana pipe if she agreed to have sex with him. According to the indictment, he then sexually assaulted her behind the Palisades Branch Library, and told her to meet him later at a motel.
Mecano posted a $127,000 bail and will be arraigned on the charges on December 12. If convicted, Mecano faces up to 12 years in prison.
If you have been accused of a sex crime, you need to provide an aggressive defense. Sex-related crimes carry stiff penalties, including fines and prison sentences. You may be required to register as a sex offender for life, and this can disrupt your relationships with your family, friends, neighbors, and employers.
It's easy to accuse someone of a sex-related crime, but proving the accusation can be much more difficult. Robert Michael Helfend specializes in criminal defense, and has been practicing in the Southern California area for nearly 25 years. Mr. Helfend can bring together the medical and legal resources you need to defend yourself in sexual assault cases.
Don't gamble with your freedom. You need a solid, coherent and aggressive defense. That's what you'll get from Robert Helfend.