Los Angeles County prosecutors must speed up filing felony charges against those accused of sexual offences and family violence, according to a new policy announcement Thursday.
The announcement follows a recent Los Angeles Times report, which highlights how the District Attorney’s Office criminal case backlog played a role in the sexual assault and murder of a 13-year-old boy.
Chief Vice-Chairman. Atty. Steve Katz said Thursday that, according to a copy of the office-wide memo reviewed by The Times, the process of filing criminal charges must begin within one business day if a decision is made to seek an arrest warrant in such cases.
“The urgency to process and file a lawsuit is especially great when fundamental conduct involves domestic violence or sexual assault.
The policy announcement comes about 24 hours after The Times published a report confirming that a backlog of thousands of pending cases at the DA’s office delayed the charges against Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, 43.
The 16-year-old accused Garcia Aquino of sexual misconduct in February 2024, and the LA County Sheriff’s Office filed the case with prosecutors in May of that year. However, a backlog of nearly 10,000 cases has left them not charged for more than 10 months, according to multiple law enforcement sources and emails reviewed by The Times.
The District Attorney’s Office confirmed that the backlog was a factor that delayed the charges against Garcia Aquino earlier this week. However, in a statement, the office also said it suggested that the request for a “additional forensic examination of evidence” may have slowed the case.
However, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department said detectives in the case were never “requested for additional information or testing from the DA’s office.”
“The toxicology report has been submitted [the investigator’s] We completed the report in May 2024,” said Nicole Nishida.
The boy, whom friends and family call him Omar, was finally seen on a Metrolink train to Palmdale and was supposed to help Garcia Aquino build a football jersey. The coach has been accused of killing him in the indecency on March 28th, and the seventh grade body was found in Ventura County in early April.
Prosecutors filed accusations against Garcia Aquino in the old case on April 2nd, four days after Omar’s murder.
Concerns about an increase in criminal case backlogs reached a fever pitch during his former DIST tenure. Atty. George Gascon. In July 2023, public records showed that around 10,000 criminal cases presented by law enforcement in 2021 and 2022 were still awaiting decision to file. Among them were defendants accused of murder, domestic violence and weapons crimes.
Current dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman, who represents Rank and File prosecutors, and the coalition president, said the backlog was caused by Gascón’s decision to centralize filing electronically and staffing crisis within the DA’s office. According to Union President Ryan Errich, Hochmann’s ranks have around 750 deputy district attorneys, the smallest roster the office has seen in decades. That figure does not include around 50 management-level prosecutors who rarely process exam and submission decisions.
Gascón did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to Thursday’s investigation into policy shifts.
Hochman said he repeatedly attacked Gascon over the conditions that led to the backlog of last year’s campaign trail, and he stepped up his efforts to clear the queue in recent weeks.
Garcia Aquino is charged with murder and several sexual abuse of two other players arising from allegations dating back to 2022. Authorities have warned that there may be more casualties. The coach didn’t enter the plea this week during a brief appearance in Downtown’s courtroom.
Representatives of the victim’s family expressed anger that Garcia Aquino was not arrested early.
Michael Carrillo, a lawyer for Omar’s family, said earlier this week. “Someone had to take responsibility here to keep this guy on the street, which led to the murder of this boy.
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