Profiles of Recent Criminal Cases Defended by Randall Vogt

College Student Accused of Rape

Mr. Vogt’s client was a college freshman who was under investigation for an alleged forcible rape in the student’s dorm room. The alleged victim complained to the police that the client had gotten her drunk and raped her in his room. The police contacted the client and asked that he submit to an interview and polygraph. The client retained Mr. Vogt at this point. Mr. Vogt’s investigator interviewed a number of witnesses and found that the alleged victim was fabricating the case against the client for reasons that had to do with social revenge. Mr. Vogt was able to find witnesses who had cell phone text messages which contradicted many of the alleged victim’s allegations. Eventually, the client met with two police detectives who conducted an interview in Mr. Vogt’s office, and under Mr. Vogt’s supervision. A month later the detectives telephoned Mr. Vogt and stated they found the evidence inconclusive. The case was not presented to the grand jury.

Teenager Accused of Statutory Rape

Mr. Vogt was retained by a man in his late teens who was accused of having sex with a teenage boy who was four years younger than the client. The case was reported to the police by an outraged clergyman at the victim’s church. Mr. Vogt’s client had admitted to the police that he had sexual relations with the young man and explained to the police that the relations were entirely consensual. The victim agreed that the relationship was entirely consensual and that no deceit or force had been involved. Mr. Vogt had the client undergo a thorough psychosexual examination which revealed him to be a normal healthy gay person with no predatory or anti-social tendencies. Client was originally charged with felonies but, though skillful negotiations, the case was plea bargained down to a non-registerable misdemeanor. The client was placed on bench probation and has, for several years, successfully conformed to the conditions of his probation.

False Memory Syndrome

Mr. Vogt was retained by the family of a young man in his late teens who had grown up in a blended family. The young man was in jail facing an indictment for a great number of serious sex crimes. He had a great number of siblings who were both his actual siblings and his step-siblings by marriage. His step sister, who was about six years younger than the client, accused him of engaging in sexual contact and sexual intercourse with her over a period of about three or four years. The sexual contact allegedly began when the victim was about nine years old and continued through her early teenage years. The case was investigated by the police and an extensive medical and psychological workup was done. There was no corroboration of the alleged victim’s claims and no medical evidence which either supported or refuted the alleged victim’s claims. At the same time, there was no evidence to corroborate the defendant’s claim that there had been no sexual contact. Thus, the case boiled down to a straight “he said-she said”. Mr. Vogt retained an expert in false memory syndrome who evaluated the case in terms of whether or not the alleged victim’s accusations could have been a product of erroneous or fantastical thinking on her part. The District Attorney, to avoid a lengthy and complex trial, reduced the charges to a non-sex, non-registerable offense and Mr. Vogt’s client was given probation.

Small Business Owner Targeted

The client, a man in his fifties, owned a small business which employed about a dozen people. One of the employees accused the client of having forcible sexual relations with her. She complained to the police and detectives interviewed the alleged victim in great detail. Detectives then turned their attention on the client who was unrepresented at this time. The client had lengthy discussions with the police officers in which he strenuously denied any unlawful sexual contact with the alleged victim. The officers did not believe him and turned the matter over to the district attorney for indictment and prosecution. At this point, the client hired Vogt. Through skillful use of a private investigator, Vogt managed to debunk the alleged victim’s claim by showing that she had, on an earlier occasion, engaged in identical behavior with another similarly-situated male.

Teenager Accused

Vogt was retained by a young man in his late teens who had recently graduated from high school. He was under suspicion of having unlawful sexual contact with his first cousin, a girl about five years younger. The sexual contact had begun about six years prior to the investigation and had ended about three years prior to the investigation. Detectives approached Vogt’s client, who was unrepresented by an attorney at this time. Vogt’s client confessed in full to the accusations. Shortly thereafter, he retained attorney Vogt who engaged in an effort to mitigate the young man’s losses. By pulling together numerous letters of recommendation, a favorable evaluation from a respected clinical psychologist, and a plea for mercy from the victim herself and her parents, Vogt was able to work out a plea bargain which salvaged the young man’s college plans and allowed a resolution of the case without the necessity of a prison sentence.

Divorce related accusations

Client was a man in his thirties who was under suspicion of having sexual contact with his own daughter, a pre-schooler at the time. These accusations came on the heels of a bitter divorce case in which the mother and father had fought over custody and visitation. The accusation of sexual impropriety was used in domestic relations court to defeat the father’s efforts to have unsupervised visits with his daughter.

Vogt personally met with the client’s parents, the client’s extended family, and his network of neighbors and friends. After gaining this knowledge of facts, Vogt then suggested to the prosecutor that the matter be investigated by a Court-appointed social worker to determine whether or not Vogt’s client was a suitable candidate for unsupervised visitation with his daughter, the alleged victim.

Through the use of an investigator, Vogt uncovered information that implied that the alleged victim’s accusations were made as a result of coaching by the alleged victim’s mother. The Court appointed social worker, after an extensive investigation, wrote a report that concluded that the accusations against Vogt’s client were unprovable and that unsupervised visits were an acceptable option.

Upon receipt of this report, the deputy district attorney decided not to indict the case.

For over 30 years, Portland attorney Randall Vogt has helped those victimized and accused of sex crimes.