A Murrieta high school football player has been charged in connection with allegedly raping two underage girls.
The 17-year-old was charged Monday, September 16, by the Riverside County District Attorney's Office with two counts of forcible rape, two counts of lewd acts with a girl under 14, one count of dissuading a victim/witness from reporting a crime and three counts of false imprisonment.
Authorities have not said much about the boy's alleged crimes, such as when or where they occurred. They have said that the alleged actions that gave rise to these charges began in 2012, and that their investigation began Aug. 29.
The boy has been suspended from the Vista Murrieta High School football team since the investigation began. Police have said the alleged sex offenses did not happen on the Vista Murrieta campus.
Another 17-year-old Murrieta boy, who is also a Vista Murrieta football player, has also been arrested on sex-related offenses. Authorities have not said as much about his case, however, claiming that the circumstances for which he has been charged do not merit as much exposure to the public.
Being charged with sex offenses, as both of these minors are, puts you in one of the most precarious and dire situations our criminal justice system can concoct. Sex offenders are stigmatized for the entire lives and have difficulty moving past their wrongs, largely because society has decided that "sex offender" is an indelible branding.
If you or a loved one has been arrested for committing a sex crime in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar, Perris, Banning, Lake Elsinore, Corona, Winchester, Riverside or Hemet, it is a good idea to fight the arrest and charges as thoroughly and vigorously as you can. We can help. Contact our office immediately for a free and confidential consultation.