STOGNER V. CALIFORNIA

STOGNER V. CALIFORNIA

SANTA ANA – June 26, 2003 – The United States Supreme Court ruled this morning in Stogner v California that the state may not prosecute serious sex offenders if the statute of limitations for their crimes had already expired before January 1, 1994, which is the date California Penal Code Section 803(g) went into effect.

It is the opinion of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, based on our initial reading of the Stogner vs. California decision, that the opinion will impact a number of cases prosecuted under California Penal Code Section 803(g).  We are in the process of reviewing all cases prosecuted under this section.

There are seven currently pending cases that appear to be affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling.  They are:

People v. John Peter Lenihan
People v. Ronald Craver Kline
People v. James Campbell Truxton
People v. Graham Wilcox
People v. Denis Lyons
People v. Raymond Allison Olds and Loui Carroll Nunley
People v. Gerald John Plesetz.

They have been charged with crimes involving substantial sexual conduct of children under the age of 18.

All other cases prosecuted in Orange County under 803(g), since its enactment in 1994, are currently being reviewed by this office.

District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said:
“This decision is bad news for some people who were victimized in the past by sexual predators.  The Supreme Court has erased the hopes of these victims for justice, and this decision will allow some sexual predators to breathe easy.
Sexual predators have a strong tendency to re-offend, and when we catch them again, we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”