Criminal Defense Q&A: My Boyfriend Assaulted Me Four Months Ago – Is It Too Late to Press Charges?
Question:
Can my friend still press charges if she was assaulted by her boyfriend 4 months ago in San Diego, California? My friend was assaulted by her boyfriend in San Diego 4 months ago. She filed a police report when it happened but did not press charges. She had many bruises and cuts that she took pictures of and archived. She was afraid to press charges before but is now realizing that he will do it to someone else if she doesn’t. Another girl filed a police report against the same man for domestic violence in 2013 but opted not to press charges out of fear. She also had cuts, bruises, and head trauma from the incident in 2013. We now have both police reports and are hoping the DA will press charges against this man since he clearly has a pattern of domestic violence.
When my friend called the courts they told her the case had been closed. Since she didn’t press charges right away and neither did the DA, I am assuming they simply closed the case. She is now trying to re-open the case. Is it possible to re-open the case since she never pressed charges in the first place? Does the report from the other girl in 2013 help my friend’s case? What is the best way to go about getting this case re-opened or getting him charged. We don’t want this to happen to anyone again.
Answer:
If your friend wants to move forward with the case, she can provide the pictures to the police department that made that the arrest or the investigations unit at the District Attorney’s Office. After doing so, she can expect to be contacted by authorities for a follow-up interview.
Additional evidence that strengthens a case can result in charges being filed, so long as the case is not time-barred by the statute of limitations (read: the deadline that prosecutors have to file charges).
Prosecutors have up to one year from the date of incident to decide whether they’re going to file a misdemeanor charge; they have up to three years if the incident warrants a felony charge. See Penal Code 802(a), 801, respectively.
If charges are warranted in your friend’s case, then prosecutors still have time to file the case since the incident occurred fairly recently.
Prosecutors may be time-barred from pursuing the other girl’s case, depending on whether her situation warrants felony or misdemeanor charges. But if prosecutors do proceed in your friend’s case, then the other girl’s incident can be used against the Defendant to demonstrate his predisposition toward domestically abusive behavior. Evidence Code 1109(a)(1); CALCRIM 852a.
Again, the next step is to contact the authorities: either the law enforcement agency that affected the arrest, or the investigations unit of the District Attorney’s Office.
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Attorney Michael J. Ocampo is a former deputy district attorney. He focuses his practice exclusively on criminal law so that he can help those accused of a crime — often ordinary, everyday people — ensure that their rights are honored and that they receive a fair opportunity to be heard.
