An arrest and accusation of rape in Rancho Mirage can entirely ruin your life. You may not have a chance at employment anymore, friends may start to avoid you, and your reputation may be entirely shredded. Even worse, a conviction may mean lifetime sex offender registration. That means you will never be truly done doing your time, even after you finish your prison term.

Whereas we at Fausto Bail Bonds cannot defend you in court, we can help you be released from jail pending your trial date. We offer reliable Rancho Mirage bail bonds for all crimes, rape included. Apart from offering bail bonds, we will answer all your questions regarding your criminal process and provide professional support when required. Unlike other bond companies, we will not abandon you after we pay your bail. If you are arrested for rape, you are going to need our help. Do not hesitate to call us.

Of course, the bail bond process may seem intricate if you have never undergone one before. That is why we have compiled a detailed guide on how bail bonds for rape charges work.

How The Rancho Mirage Bail Bonds Process Works for Rape Charges

California 261 PC describes rape as nonconsensual sex accomplished against the victim's will, through fraud, force, violence, threats, or fear of imminent bodily harm. It is also considered rape if the victim was:

  • Unable to legally consent due to a physical or mental disability
  • Intoxicated by drugs, alcohol, or any other mind-altering substance
  • Asleep, unconscious, or not aware of the act
  • Persuaded to participate in sex because of false representation, false pretenses, or other fraudulent means
  • Under duress, for example, they were forced to sleep with the boss or be fired

Examples of rape incidents include:

  • A doctor tricks his female patient into engaging in sexual intercourse with him under the pretense that it will cure her illness
  • Raped accomplished through physical force.
  • A man engages in sexual intercourse with a woman who is incapacitated due to alcohol consumption.
  • Where a police officer tells a female suspect that he has pulled them over for driving under the influence and that he will release her if she engages in sexual intercourse with him

The Consequences for Rape

When accused of rape, bail is not the only thing you must worry about. You must also consider the consequences you will face upon conviction. The California punishments and stigma that follow a sex offense conviction are usually severe. For example, rape is a straight felony offense, and as far as a conviction is concerned, some consequences are what you would anticipate. That is hefty fines and a lengthy prison term.

Precisely, if convicted of rape, you could face imprisonment for eight, six, or three years. If the victim in question was a child, the minimum prison term would be eleven years and the maximum 13 years. If the victim sustained a significant injury, you will be subject to an additional three to five years in prison.

Apart from the fines and prison term, you will also be required to register as a sex offender for life. If you are registering as a sex offender, you must check in with local law enforcement regularly. In addition, your name, location, and photo will be available for the public to view. This may affect your capability to secure approval for an apartment, obtain employment, build a social circle, or integrate back into society after your release.

Rape also counts as a strike per California's Three Strikes Law. That means if you are found guilty of another serious felony after your rape conviction, the consequences will automatically double. And if you receive a third conviction for a serious felony, you will be subject to up to life imprisonment.

Rape-Related Offenses and Charges

Additional variations of crimes that fall under the umbrella of rape law include:

PC 261.5, Spousal Rape

Spousal rape occurs when a person accomplishes sexual intercourse with their spouse against their (the spouse’s) will. Spousal rape carries the same consequences as non-spousal rape between two adults.

Date Rape

Date rape refers to nonconsensual sex that occurs between individuals who are dating, dated, or voluntarily spending time together. Whereas date rape sounds more casual than a typical rape charge, the two are the same. Both are charged and punished under PC 261.

PC 261.5, Statutory Rape

Under California statutory rape laws, it is unlawful to have sex with anybody, not your spouse, who is under eighteen years old (the state's age of consent). Whether the child willingly participated in or initiated the sexual act does not matter since children are lawfully incapable of consenting to sex.

PC 264, Gang Rape

Gang rape refers to voluntarily acting in concert with one or more people to commit rape. Gang rape is punishable by ten, twelve, or fourteen years in prison if the victim is under fourteen years old. If the victim is fourteen to seventeen years old, the crime is punishable by seven, nine, or eleven years. And if the victim is an adult, a gang rape conviction will be punishable by five, seven, or nine years in prison.

What Is Bail for Rape?

In essence, bail for rape is a payment you must deposit to the court to secure your release from custody after the commission of rape and is a promise to the court that you will make an appearance for the hearings of your charges. It is essentially a type of collateral. Should you attend court for all your scheduled hearings, the court will return your money. If you miss even one court date, you will forfeit the money to the court, and they may issue a bench warrant for your arrest.

Setting Bail

After the arresting officer takes you into custody, they will conduct the booking procedure, which entails taking mugshots, recording your personal details, capturing your fingerprints, searching the system to see if you have any pending warrants, confiscating your personal belongings, et cetera.

After you have been booked, the authorities will allow you to make one telephone call before you are placed in a cell. Meanwhile, your case will be taken to the district attorney, who will decide whether or not to file charges. If the district attorney files charges, you will be set for a bail hearing, where the judge will decide your bail value. This usually occurs within forty-eight hours after being arrested.

The Bail Value for Rape

California courts consider rape to be a very serious crime. It is punished harshly, and the judge can set the bail amount incredibly high. Seeing how severe this crime is, it is critical to understand precisely what the prosecution has charged you with and what the accusation means legally.

Like most states, California sets bail using a bail schedule. A bail schedule is a list that outlines how low or high bail should be set based on the supposed offense. The state government may update the bail schedule since opinions and laws around certain offenses keep changing. For example, since marijuana is not illegal anymore in California, the government had to update the bail schedules to reflect that. Note that every county in California has its own bail schedule.

Whereas a judge has the discretion to alter a bail value based on various factors, like the defendant’s criminal history, whether the defendant is a flight risk, and whether a defendant poses a danger to society, most judges look at the bail schedule to establish how high they should set bail. If you are charged with rape in Rancho Mirage, the judge could set your bail value at 100,000 U.S. dollars per the Riverside County bail schedule.

Paying for this amount of money may appear to be impossible. Considering that most Californians live from paycheck to paycheck, only a few would have that kind of money saved somewhere. Fortunately, cash bail is not the only way out if you find yourself in this situation. A bail bond service can come to your rescue.

When you request a Rancho Mirage bail bond company to help you post bail, you would have entered a surety bond. That means you will not need to pay anything to the court. However, you will pay the bond company a premium. The premium is usually 10 percent of the total bail amount.

How Payment of Rancho Mirage Bail Bonds Works

As we have established, the bail amount for rape can be $100,000 per the bail schedule (although it can be less or more based on the judge's discretion). So, let us say the judge sets your bail at $100,000. If you are contracting a Rancho Mirage bail bonds company to post bail for you, you must pay the company a $10,000 premium.

After you have paid, your bail bondsman will travel to the jail where you are being held or the court and post the entire bail amount, which is $10,000. Remember that the premium is nonrefundable whether or not you are acquitted of your charges.

Some Rancho Mirage bail bond companies will also need you to provide them with collateral. In this case, collateral may be any valuable item, like jewelry, the deed to your home, and your car’s pink slip. The bond company will use this collateral to secure the bail bond in case you do not attend court on the scheduled dates.

Since bail bond agencies and bondsmen generally assume the financial risk when paying bail bonds for defendants, they generally take extra measures to ensure the defendants never miss attending court. After all, their objective is to retrieve all the bond money they post.

That said, the bond agency may, for example, ask one of your relatives or friends to give the required collateral to secure your bond since bondsmen often believe that accused persons are highly likely to attend court since their relative or friend’s property or money is on the line.

The bond agency may also call you before every scheduled court date. You may also need to routinely report to the agency’s office to demonstrate you have not skipped town.

If you appear on all your court dates, you will not forfeit the bond money to the court. But if you do not, the court will hold onto the money and may issue a bench warrant against you. Additionally, you will be required to cover the total bail value minus the deposit you already gave to the bail bond company.

Defending Against Rape Charges

Rape is among the most common offenses for which several innocent individuals are falsely accused. If you find yourself in that situation, various legal defenses can help you fight and beat the charges against you. They include arguing that:

  • The victim agreed to the sexual intercourse
  • You honestly and reasonably believe the supposed victim made false accusations
  • Insufficient evidence
  • You may have made physical contact with the victim, but it fell short of actual intercourse.
  • You are a victim of mistaken identity.

The initial step toward building a solid defense and ensuring your rape charges are reduced or dropped is to post bail. When locked up, visits by your lawyer are monitored and limited. Discussing and preparing your case properly in custody can be difficult, particularly because your friends and family will not provide an ideal support system.

This is why you want to contact a Rancho Mirage bail bonds company, regardless of how the judge has set your bail. A bail bondsman can assist you in regaining your freedom, and since most companies have flexible plans, you can pay your premium in a manner that is friendly to your wallet.

Find Reliable Rancho Mirage Bail Bond Services Near Me

Being arrested for rape in Rancho Mirage is not a picnic for anybody. When it occurs, you need reliable help to secure your freedom within the shortest time possible. At Fausto Bail Bonds, we are here to help you by offering reliable Rancho Mirage bail bonds. We have been in business for decades and therefore boast the experience and know-how to have your bond posted as quickly as possible.

Our objective is to assist our clients in vacating their cells immediately after their arrest. Even better, we are available 24/7, so you can reach us whenever you are in trouble. Call us at 855-328-7867 to learn how we can assist you during one of your terrifying moments.