Chicago Sexual Assault Defense Attorney Tag Archives

October 13, 2023

Youth Pastor Accused of Sexually Assaulting and Robbing Women

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A 36-year-old youth pastor is accused of sexually assaulting and robbing women. The crimes are alleged to have occurred with the same modus operandi. The pastor would approach a woman, begin talking to her, and attempt to lure her to his car. If she refused, the pastor would rob the woman, and in at least two cases, he sexually assaulted them.

Police say that the 36-year-old youth pastor targeted a 44-year-old woman in 2300 block of East 79th Street, a 58-year-old woman in the 400 block of West 113th Street, and a 45-year-old woman in the 10200 block of South Wentworth Avenue. He is further accused of sexual assault against a 47-year-old woman in 12300 block of South Emerald Avenue and a 34-year-old woman in 9300 block of South Lyon Avenue. All of the assaults occurred between June and July of 2023.

One of the cases involved a homeless woman who accepted a ride from the defendant. Police allege that he sexually assaulted the woman at knifepoint before stealing her belongings. Police found the victim’s ID and credit cards inside of the suspect’s car.

February 3, 2023

Tattoo Artist Accused of Sexual Assault While Out on Bond for Sexual Assault

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

This is part of the problem with the arguments against removing cash bail. The obvious thing is that cash bail does not prevent violent individuals from committing more violent crimes. It allows those who can afford to buy their way out of jail, do so. The idea that this makes you safer is silly.

Ending cash bail would give judges discretion over which cases an individual could be held for. In the case of sexual assault or other violent crimes, any form of bail would be denied.

In this case, a man was accused of sexually assaulting several female clients to whom he provided tattoos. He was charged with the crimes, bonded out of jail, and then committed several more sexual assaults. On Wednesday, he was denied bail.

August 31, 2022

Former High School Dean Charged With Sexual Assault of Student

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A former high school dean is facing disturbing charges that he had a sexual relationship with a former student while she was between the ages of 15 and 17. At one point, the dean posed as her stepfather and signed consent papers to have two abortions. The relationship is alleged to have begun in 2013 when the girl was 15. The former dean is accused of contacting the student over Snapchat and then initiating a sexual relationship that lasted for two years. The dean was terminated by the district in 2021 according to the current principal who sent a notice to parents.

The relationship did not come to light until 2021 when the former student filed a police report after the principal attempted to contact her. The victim reported the incident to a teacher in 2015, but the teacher never reported the matter to the police, which why it took six years for charges to be filed against the former dean.

The dean has been charged with criminal sexual assault after police obtained Snapchat messages and the medical consent forms for the two abortions.

July 15, 2022

Governor Closes Loophole in Sexual Assault Law

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Governor Pritzker recently signed a revision to an Illinois law that made it difficult for prosecutors to pursue charges against perpetrators of sex crimes against a victim who was voluntarily intoxicated. The bill will close a loophole under the law that made prosecutions more difficult when a victim was intoxicated by their own volition. The law as it was written required the perpetrator to cause the intoxication of the victim. The bill added new language to the statute that makes it easier for prosecutors to file charges against a perpetrator when the victim was drunk or high at the time. Nonetheless, the new law only makes room for victims who are unable to give consent at the time of the sexual contact. If the victim was “unconscious of the nature of the act” and the perpetrator “knew that they could not consent” then the sexual conduct is now actionable.

What Happened?

The legislature took the matter up after a young victim was told by police that her experience did not qualify as rape or sexual assault under Illinois law. According to the victim, she was at a friend’s house partying when she was sexually assaulted by another individual. The police told her they would not investigate the charges because she had voluntarily become drunk when she was raped. When she asked the police what legal options she had at her disposal, they told her to not let it happen again and to move on. Instead, she lobbied politicians to close the loophole in the law and now police will be forced to investigate these matters.

September 2, 2020

Powerful Chicago Attorney Charged With Sexual Assault

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

The DA’s office is charging David Pasulka with sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and criminal sexual abuse charges related to allegations dating back to 2012. Pasulka, a prominent Cook County family law attorney, is being accused of acting too friendly with a female associate at his law firm and then raping her on the couch of his office. Another female associate leveled similar charges against Pasulka.

Pasulka’s case will involve two accusers discussing three separate incidents.

Examining the Charges

July 17, 2020

CPS Football Coach Facing Sexual Assault/Child Pornography Charges

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A former Chicago Public Schools football coach has been accused of sexual misconduct with one of his players. This individual is also accused of taking nude photos of the student and then posting those photos in the victim’s apartment building and in areas that would be on the way to his school.

Curtis Thomas worked at the Bronzeville Scholastic Institute High School when the alleged assault occurred. His official title was “school community representative.” Thomas was fired in 2014 and placed on a “do not hire” list.

CPS officials are not speaking publicly about the incident. They refused to indicate whether Thomas was a football coach on the team when the student was assaulted. Prosecutors, however, said that Thomas was among the football coaches on the team at the time of the assault. The boy was 15 in 2010 when the assault occurred.

February 26, 2020

Harvey Weinstein Convicted of Rape

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Well, in case you have not heard, and you would have to be living under a rock not to, Harvey Weinstein, the impetus for the #MeToo movement was convicted on two charges, including rape. Weinstein appeared old and battered as he painfully moved through the courtroom with the help of his walker to receive his sentence.

While the conviction is chewing up all the headlines, Weinstein was also acquitted of two more serious charges. Nonetheless, he could face up to 29 years in prison. At 67 years of age, that is practically a life sentence.

Weinstein was acquitted of two counts of predatory sexual assault, each of which could have carried a life sentence. Those counts hinged on the testimony of popular Italian-American actress Annabella Sciorra, who told the jury that Weinstein had barged his way into her apartment and forcibly raped her. The testimony was supposed to provide evidence of a pattern of sexual misconduct going back several years.

February 19, 2020

Jury Begins Deliberating in Weinstein Trial

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Both sides finished their closing arguments and the jury began deliberating on the fate of Harvey Weinstein, the once-powerful movie producer who has been implicated in hundreds of accusations of predatory sexual abuse. The judge delivered instructions to jurors to “use their common sense” which is generally good for prosecutors and bad for defendants, as common sense has a way of siding with authority in these matters. However, in this case, the judge’s directives may have echoed the closing arguments of Weinstein’s lawyer Donna Rotunno, who specializes in sexual assault criminal defense.

Nonetheless, jurors sent a note asking for the legal definition of consent and forcible compulsion and questioned why Weinstein was not charged in connection with the alleged rape of actress Annabella Sciorra.

Further instructions stipulated that jurors who found Weinstein not guilty of one count must find him not guilty of other counts, as well. The judge defined forcible sexual intercourse and predatory sexual assault, among other terms, for the jurors.

July 3, 2019

Man Accused in Decade-Old Sexual Assault

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Chicago taxi driver Mustafa Dikbas was accused of holding a woman hostage and sexually assaulting her in his taxi earlier this year. The man was later arrested in Oswego for a 2007 sexual assault that also occurred within a taxi.

The investigation began in 2007 when a woman told police that she had been sexually assaulted on a trip from Chicago to Oswego by her cab driver. She was able to provide a description of the driver to police but did not know the name of the cab company and could not provide information on the vehicle. DNA evidence was collected and found its way into the DNA index system.

Dikbas was arrested earlier this year in a similar assault on a 26-year-old woman in his taxi and charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and kidnapping. Dikbas’s DNA was entered into the system and turned up a match.

July 16, 2015

Champaign Police “2014 Officer of the Year” Charged with Sexual Assault

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A Champaign police officer was charged and arraigned in Champaign County on charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, and aggravated domestic battery, according to a news report. The suspect, Jerad Gale, is alleged to have anally penetrated a 23-year-old woman and tried to strangle her by covering her nose and mouth and pressing her head into a pillow. The woman was Gale’s former girlfriend, a University of Illinois student, who went to UI police on May 5 to inform them about an alleged assault by Gale that happened on November 9, 2013. According to the Champaign county prosecutor in charge, the woman had been in a relationship with Gale from November 2012 to November 2013.

Another woman came forward with allegations against Gale in Piatt County. The woman dated Gale between 2008 and 2012 and lived with him in Monticello where Gale worked as a police officer for three years. Gale was charged and arraigned on two felony counts of criminal sexual assault.

Sexual Assault in Illinois

In order to be convicted of criminal sexual assault in Illinois, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an individual committed an act of sexual penetration and:

Used force or threat of force;
The victim was unable to understand the nature of the act or was unable to give knowing consent;
The victim was a family member under 18 years old; or
The individual was 17 years of age or older and holds a position of authority, trust, or supervision over the victim who is between 13 and 17 years old.

For a first conviction, the crime is a Class 1 felony and carries a mandatory prison term of four to fifteen years. For a second conviction, it is considered a Class X felony and carries between six to thirty years of imprisonment. Subsequent convictions can result between thirty to sixty years or life imprisonment.

Criminal sexual assault becomes aggravated if it involves the following aggravating factors:

dangerous weapon;
bodily harm;
threatening the life of the victim or another;
commission of another felony;
the victim is sixty years old or older;
the victim is physically disabled;
the accused delivered any controlled substance to the victim;
the accused was armed with a firearm or discharged a firearm; or
The accused discharged a firearm during the offense that caused great bodily harm or death to another person.

Additionally, aggravated criminal sexual assault occurs when an individual commits an act of sexual penetration and:

the victim is eight years old or under and the accused is under seventeen years old.
the victim is between nine through 12 years of age and force or threat of force is involved, and the accused is under seventeen years of age; or
the victim is severely or profoundly mentally disabled.

Aggravated criminal sexual assault is a Class X felony and, for first convictions, carries between six and thirty years of mandatory imprisonment with possible extended terms of ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five years, or a natural life term. For second or subsequent convictions, the mandatory prison term is for the accused’s natural life.

Here, Gale is accused of having caused bodily harm to one of the victims during the act of penetration as he allegedly tried to strangle her and pressed her head into a pillow. This may be considered as an aggravating factor, unless Gale can successfully prove consent as a defense.