Criminal Justice
Lawyer Acquitted of Charge He Raped Would-Be Client; Defense Argued Consent
A Minnesota jury deliberated only a few hours on Monday before acquitting a Minneapolis lawyer accused of raping a would-be client in a cocaine-fueled attack.
The accused lawyer, Al Garcia, did not take the stand. His lawyer argued the woman who made the claim had consented to the sex, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
The accuser, who wasn’t identified, had testified that she expected to sign a retainer agreement when she went to Garcia’s office one evening in 2008. Instead, she said Garcia used cocaine and forced her into sex acts, saying no one could hear her.
Garcia is currently serving a five-year sentence after being convicted of taking drugs as payment for legal services, the story says.
