Our partner, John LoTurco, head of the Suffolk County Criminal Law Group, secured a dismissal for our client, J.C., in a case involving allegations of child sexual abuse.
J.C. was initially charged with felony Sexual Abuse based on an allegation that he inappropriately touched his girlfriend’s daughter while helping her shower. Mr. LoTurco and his paralegal, Gina Zamora, prepared an extensive written submission presenting evidence supporting J.C.’s innocence. Following that submission and Mr. LoTurco’s oral arguments, the District Attorney’s Office reduced the charges to misdemeanors.
Mr. LoTurco, together with Alexis Epstein and Kevin Kearon, also filed a motion to dismiss that was instrumental in securing the favorable resolution. Shortly before trial was scheduled to begin, the District Attorney’s Office consented to the defense’s application for an ACOD.
The defense presented substantial evidence challenging the allegation, including a contentious custody history between the child’s biological parents. Members of the biological father’s family had previously made multiple allegations against J.C. and the mother’s former boyfriends, which Suffolk County Child Protective Services investigated and classified as “unfounded.”
Surveillance footage from the home shared by J.C. and the child’s mother further undermined the allegation. The footage showed the child at closely spaced intervals between her arrival at the home and her departure, leaving insufficient time for her to have showered and for the alleged offense to have occurred.
J.C. was deeply relieved by the resolution, which spared him the stress and uncertainty of a jury trial.