Not Guilty: Attorney Goldstein Wins Full Acquittal in Rape Jury Trial

Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyer Zak Goldstein

Philadelphia Criminal Defense Attorney Zak T. Goldstein, Esquire recently won a full acquittal from a Philadelphia jury on Rape charges in the case of Commonwealth v. J.B..

In this case, the complainant alleged that her mother's boyfriend, J.B., had been regularly beating her with a belt and sexually assaulting her. She claimed that these incidents would usually happen when she got in trouble at school or otherwise failed to follow the rules in the home. She also claimed that this would often happen when her mother or siblings were home, but no one saw anything or did anything about it. Based on her complaint, Philadelphia Police arrested J.B. and charged him with Rape, Unlawful Contact with a Minor, and Indecent Assault.

Knowing that these cases are extremely difficult to defend and win at trial, J.B. retained Attorney Goldstein for trial. Upon reviewing the discovery for the case, Attorney Goldstein quickly saw that there were major problems with the complainant's story, and Attorney Goldstein was able to show those problems to the Philadelphia jury.

First, the complainant had made similar allegations to her sister and mother prior to going to the police but then admitted to them that she had made the story up because she was afraid of getting in trouble for receiving a bad report card at school.

Second, although she claimed that J.B. had beaten her with a belt and sexually assaulted her two days before she went to the police, not a single investigator had seen her with any kind of bruising or injuries. The police officers who investigated, the DHS worker who was assigned to her case, and the medical professionals who examined her at the hospital all failed to note any injuries or bruising of any kind.

Third, there were major inconsistencies in her story that Attorney Goldstein was able to highlight on cross-examination.

Finally, she claimed that this had all happened in broad daylight in front of numerous family members, but none of the family members had seen anything or corroborated her story, and the Commonwealth had also not obtained any physical or forensic evidence linking J.B. to any kind of assault in any way.

Attorney Goldstein successfully cross-examined the complainant on these major holes in her story and highlighted the lack of any other corroborating evidence for the jury. Faced with the problems in the testimony and the lack of physical evidence, the jury quickly acquitted J.B. of all charges.

These types of cases are extremely difficult to defend and win in today's climate. Jurors are under a significant amount of pressure to believe the alleged victim in a sexual assault case even in the absence of any corroborating evidence. Therefore, if you or a loved one are facing criminal charges for alleged sexual misconduct, it is extremely important that you retain counsel with the skill and experience necessary to properly defend you in court and protect the presumption of innocence.

Facing criminal charges? We can help.

Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyers

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, DUI, PWID, Rape, and Murder. We have also won new trials on appeal and in Post-Conviction Relief Act litigation for clients who were wrongfully convicted or who received the ineffective assistance of counsel. 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.