Facts:
My client was outside in his neighborhood one evening with his girlfriend. They were hanging out with their neighbors and a group of teenage boys playing basketball. At some point, the neighbor’s son and his friends started arguing. My client knows the boy well and went over to calm things down. In the process, the boy said something and my client grabbed him by the neck. Everything settled down and nothing else happened that night.
The following day at school, the boy complained to his counselor about being choked by my client. The counselor called the police and the boy’s father. The boy’s father does not know my client and does not live in the neighborhood. When the police went to the boy’s house, he showed them a Ring camera video of my client grabbing him by the neck. Even though both the boy and his mother did not want my client charged, the police arrested him for child abuse.
I was hired to defend him.
The Case:
I did not have access to the video, but the prosecutor said it looked like a crime. She said that the boy’s father wanted my client charged. I told her that the boy’s mother did not want him charged, so why would she pick one parent’s wishes over the other? The parents are also going through a custody battle, so this incident could have been used in that family law case. It could have gotten messy. The prosecutor suggested that my client do 8 hours of anger management and get an alcohol evaluation. I had my client complete those tasks immediately and then sent it to the prosecutor.
The Result:
After about a month, the charge was dropped. Since my client had no prior record, he is going to expunge the history of the arrest because he does not want an allegation of child abuse on his record. It was a great result on a case that could have been very tough.
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