Commonwealth v. M.L. – Middlesex Superior Court

THE NOONAN DEFENSE TEAM CONVINCES THE PROSECUTION TO DROP CHARGES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING, KIDNAPPING, ASSAULT & BATTERY, AND STRANGULATION AGAINST EVERETT MAN FACING POTENTIAL LIFE SENTENCE

Defendant was indicted by a Middlesex Grand Jury on the charges of: Trafficking of a Person under 18 for Sexual Servitude, (G.L. c. 265, § 50), Kidnapping (G.L. c. 265, § 26), multiple counts of Strangulation or Suffocation (G.L. c. 265, § 15D), and multiple counts of Assault and Battery (G.L. c. 265, § 13A). The Sex Trafficking charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years in State Prison. If convicted on all charges, the Defendant was facing a serious prison sentence.

Defendant was a 21 year-old man, with no criminal record, who lived with his parents and three siblings in Everett and he worked as a grocery delivery driver. He was in a dating relationship with the alleged victim (“A.V.”) who was 17 years-old at the time they met. In November 5, 2018, A.V. reported to police that she had been beaten by the Defendant on 11.01.18. Police photographed injuries to her face, neck, arms, and body. A.V. told police that the Defendant kidnapped her on 11.01.18 in his vehicle and he put on the child safety locks so he couldn’t escape. She claimed that the Defendant, and his friend, drove to an area where the Defendant choked her and beat her. After the alleged kidnapping, A.V. got out of the Defendant’s car and walked to her apartment in Medford.

A.V. went on to state that the Defendant force her into prostitution. She claimed that the Defendant created an online dating profile for her and forced her to go out of dates with men, have sex with men for money, and to rob the men. She went on to describe a history of the Defendant physically abusing, choking, and beating her.

Result: Attorney Patrick J. Noonan immediately began a thorough investigation and his Defense Team discovered exculpatory evidence which was used to convince the prosecution to drop the case. Attorney Patrick J. Noonan discovered that A.V. committed perjury and lied under oath when she falsely claimed that was pregnant at the time the Defendant had allegedly beaten her. She claimed that she lost the baby as a result of the Defendant’s assault. The Defense Team found that A.V. was never pregnant. Because of this huge lie, A.V. had a Fifth Amendment issue if she were to testify at trial, which meant that: if A.V. testified at trial, she would incriminate herself by admitting that she lied about being pregnant. A.V. exercised her Fifth Amendment privilege and elected not to testify at trial. Without A.V.’s testimony, the Commonwealth had to drop the charges. The Defense Team discovered other evidence favorable to the defense. The Defense Team discovered that A.V.’s apartment building had video cameras, which would have shown A.V. returning home after she was allegedly kidnapped and beaten by the Defendant. The Defense believed that the video would have shown A.V. walking to her apartment with no signs that she had been kidnapped or beaten. We discovered that this video existed but the Commonwealth failed to obtain it. Next, A.V. had to provide her cell phone to police. The prosecution provided the Defense with an Extraction Report of the date on A.V.’s phone. However, A.V. deleted a substantial amount of data from her phone prior to handing it over to police. The Defense Team had an expert who was prepared to recover all the content that A.V. had deleted from her phone. Next, the Defense Team consulted with an expert medical doctor who reviewed the photographs of the injuries to A.V.’s face. The expert was of the opinion that the markings to A.V.’s face were not consistent with her account that the Defendant had punched her repeatedly in the face. If the Defendant repeated punched A.V. in the face, there would be obvious signs of swelling but there was no swelling. The photos of the face did not have the appearance of trauma inflicted injuries. The photos of the face and eyes showed skin discoloration, which could have been from simple skin irritation, not trauma. Next, the Defense Team filed a motion seeking a court order of A.V.’s online dating profile, as the Defense Team believed that the records would show that A.V. was already using this online dating service prior to even meeting the Defendant. Lastly, the Defense Team presented evidence that A.V. had a motive to falsely accuse the Defendant. Defendant had broken up with A.V. and blocked her from every source, such as cell phone and social media. A.V. couldn’t accept the fact that the Defendant had broken up with her. A.V. contacted the Defendant and threatened to commit suicide if the Defendant did not answer her calls or take her back as his girlfriend. A.V. was so desperate to remain in a relationship with the Defendant that she lied about being pregnant. The Defense obtained a text message that A.V.’s mother sent to the Defendant’s mother, which A.V.’s mother sent prior to A.V. calling the police. In the text, A.V.’s mother states that they will not go to the police if the Defendant makes up with A.V. and takes her back. Based on all the evidence obtained as a result of the Noonan Defense Team’s investigation, the prosecution dropped all charges.