In January of last year, a woman got into what she believed was an Uber outside a Hollywood nightclub. Instead, her evening turned into a nightmare as she had unwittingly entered the vehicle of a rapist posing as an Uber driver, who took her to a secluded area and assaulted her. Nicolas Morales, 44, was…
The Harvard Business School Association of Orange County (HBSAOC) plans to hold a forum on fighting sexual predators on Thursday, May 10, 2018, entitled “Stop Sexual Predators—Force Change, Right Now.” The forum, focused on practical solutions and actionable change, will feature a multi-speaker panel with all proceeds going toward rape crisis centers and support for…
We’re dedicating today’s blog to our former client—and super mom—turned victim advocate Christy Heiskala. Words can’t express how proud we are of her for all the work she’s doing to prevent child abuse and molestation. But we’ll try. After an incident in 2007 when Christy’s daughter came home from elementary school and told her mother…
No matter how well you take care of your vehicle, you can’t predict when car trouble might happen. Breakdowns or flat tires can happen at any time, as can car accidents. And, here in California, there’s always the possibility of Mother Nature throwing us a curveball with the threat of wildfires, mudslides, or earthquakes. Our…
According to a lawsuit filed on April 6, 2018, a 9-year-old girl was molested by her bus driver for months, even after her guardians alerted the Lucia Mar school system to investigate—which they did and allowed the driver to continue working. The girl’s family is suing the Lucia Mar Unified School District (LMUSD), the San…
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made headlines after some controversial comments on a March 11 appearance on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” During a discussion about her department’s changes on how colleges should report sexual assaults, she appeared to suggest that the number of false accusations was equal to the number of actual, real assaults. When host…
Last year, 16-year-old Jesse Esphorts was a rising star on his high-school baseball team. On March 7th, he hit the game-winning home run for his team. A few hours after that run, he was killed in a three-car collision in Torrance. His father, Jesse Esphorts Sr. 47, was driving them home after dinner at his…
Burns are among the most painful and disfiguring injuries a person can suffer. They are also difficult and expensive to treat. A victim of a serious burn injury should unfortunately anticipate a long and tough road to recovery. Fortunately, however, with current medical advances, there is more hope than there used to be. New methods…
With more than 10,000 rape kits sitting untested in California, lawmakers have introduced a bill that will address the backlog and ensure future kits will be tested in a timely manner. Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) introduced legislation in late February that would require law enforcement and forensic labs to more promptly test rape kit…
Recent attention and media coverage relating to the #MeToo movement has lawmakers drafting new legislation to protect victims against sexual harassments in the workplace. A bipartisan bill aims to end forced arbitration used to resolve workplace disputes regarding sexual harassment. The “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act of 2017,” although introduced last December, is…