Suspects in recent cases were arrested but not charged as investigations continue

The two cases drew public attention in recent weeks. One involved the arrest of person suspected of groping women in San Diego neighborhoods. The other involved the arrest of four men who deputies said were suspected of drugging and sexually assaulting three teens in San Marcos.

In both cases, the people who had been arrested were released from jail without charges. Prosecutors said the matters remained under investigation.

How is it that law enforcement can arrest someone, but no charges follow?

“Just because someone is arrested or investigated for something and if charges aren’t immediately filed, it doesn’t mean that that person is not going to be filed against in the future. Just means that there’s more investigation that needs to be had before the prosecution is comfortable in terms of making a filing decision,” said Anna Yum, a San Diego defense attorney who is a former Riverside County prosecutor.

Before prosecutors decide to file charges, she said, they have “an ethical duty to believe that they can prove their case.” They must justify signing off on a prosecution. “Just a simple signature of their name could alter the trajectory of someone’s future,” she said.

In the groping case, San Diego police said late last month that they were investigating reports that women had been groped in North Park, Pacific Beach and near the College Area. According to a police spokesperson, the reported incidents had similar circumstances: a man would park, strip down to a T-shirt and tight shorts or spandex, go for a run then expose himself to a female and grope her. The department said a 31-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of sexual battery, suspected to be connected to one of the incidents.

He was later released without charges. The San Diego City Attorney’s Office said a case is under review.

“At this time, we are still reviewing what has been submitted by law enforcement and will provide an update when a filing decision is made,” a spokesperson for the office said.

The other investigation came to light when the Sheriff’s Office said it had arrested four men, ages 31 to 44, earlier this month on suspicion of drugging and sexually assaulting three teen girls in San Marcos. Sheriff’s officials did not provide further details about the alleged incident.

No charges were filed last week. The District Attorney’s Office said the case was under review.

When someone is in custody, they must be charged within three business days or released. Sometimes, that’s just not enough time for investigators — or prosecutors.

“They have to build up their case to see if they, ethically, if they believe that they can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,” Yum said of a prosecutor’s duty.

The lack of initial charges doesn’t necessarily signal an end to the case. Veteran defense attorney Kerry Armstrong said he often sees the District Attorney’s Office “kind of take a pause and do further investigation.”

He noted that when the identification of a suspect is at issue, it might require more investigation before a case can be filed. It’s not enough to have the license plate when a driver is accused of, say, exposing themselves a victim. Authorities must prove the suspect was actually at the scene. One way to do that might be triangulating where the suspect’s phone was at the time, based on the surrounding cellphone towers it was using. But that sort of evidence takes a search warrant. And that takes time.

Laboratory testing — such as DNA or toxicology — can also take time, depending on the circumstances of the case. So does looking for witnesses or surveillance videos, or getting a warrant to go search electronic communications such as texts or direct messages.