Following a jury trial in Montgomery County Circuit Court, Eric Bacaj won acquittals on all rape charges and one lesser-included offense that his client faced.
In March 2024, Silverman Thompson’s client was caught in the crosshairs of law enforcement authorities when he was the last person seen with a missing 13-year-old girl in Germantown, Maryland. Once the child was found, the investigation turned to rape allegations when she claimed she had been sexually assaulted by our client. The allegations were corroborated by an independent eyewitness, who claimed to have seen the girl and Silverman Thompson’s client naked together in his apartment.
Our client faced two counts of rape in the second degree and two counts of sex offense in the third degree, all based on the girl’s age, carrying a maximum penalty of 60 years in jail. Though initially held without bond, Mr. Bacaj obtained his client’s release to home confinement pending the trial over the State’s strong opposition.
Eric Bacaj worked tirelessly with his client and his family to prepare for trial. During the trial, Eric Bacaj undercut the 13-year-old girl’s credibility with an exceptional cross-examination, probing the inconsistencies in her statements to law enforcement, her whereabouts while she was missing, and the discrepancies between her account and the eyewitness’s account. Mr. Bacaj also neutralized testimony from experts in DNA and sexual assault forensic examinations, meticulously providing jurors with reasons to doubt our client’s guilt.
After two days of testimony, Eric Bacaj presented closing arguments to the jury, focusing on the myriad reasons to doubt the State’s evidence that he raised at trial. The jury deliberated for nearly eight hours before acquitting Silverman Thompson’s client of all but one lesser-included offense.
Eric Bacaj previously worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, where he prosecuted federal crimes including child pornography, and as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, where he served in the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Bureau. Mr. Bacaj has significant experience defending sexual assault allegations, including rape and child pornography charges.
To learn more about the criminal defense team at Silverman Thompson, call us toll-free at 800-385-2243 for a free consultation or contact Eric Bacaj at ebacaj@silvermanthompson.com.