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Attempted sexual assault case dropped against former counseling service owner
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
District Judge Jessie Walsh dismissed an attempted sexual assault case Monday against the politically connected former owner of a courthouse counseling service.
The charges against Steven Brox, 46, stemmed from a December 2008 encounter with his 18-year-old niece, who was 15 at the time. Brox was to stand trial this week, but the niece, who now lives in Utah, had recanted her testimony.
In a videotaped interview with a defense investigator, the niece said she lied on the witness stand at a preliminary hearing last year. She said she made up the allegations to gain sympathy from her boyfriend to keep him from breaking up with her.
"I'm very relieved," Brox said after Monday's hearing. "For everyone who believed in me and supported me, thank you, and I love you. For everyone else, I wish you best and God bless you."
Brox's lawyer, Robert Draskovich, said Walsh had made the "appropriate decision" to dismiss the case.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Lisa Luzaich declined to comment.
Brox, a longtime familiar courthouse face, is under a separate criminal investigation into allegations that he sold fraudulent certificates stating clients had completed his counseling programs.
Draskovich said Las Vegas police have returned most of the property they seized from Brox last year. He said he doesn't think the investigation will result in charges.
For years, Brox ran United States Justice Associates, a counseling service that helped people charged with crimes get through the justice system.
The company, which closed after police began investigating its business dealings, was one of several that offered court-ordered counseling programs for misdemeanor cases of alcohol and drug abuse, AIDS awareness, anger management and petty larceny.
Contact reporter Jeff German at jgerman@ reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.
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This is regarding the sexual assault case I think something needs to be done Here you have all these women that are manipulating to gain custody of their children and they are going to the ultimate extreme and making false allegations... You would think that cps and the judges could figure it out. It doesnt say much for our judicial system.. Its cause all the da's think about is getting another conviction under there belt.. My nephew has been in jail for 14 months due to his manipulating x wife and now she has moved out of state with the children and god knows how they are being taken care of ... She even went to the extend of having his sister lie but she was proven uncrediable. That should have been a red flag right there I cant believe xwifes would go to the extreme of ruining someones life just to get what they want. I think they should be prosecuted to the fullest.What happen to INNOCENT TILL PROVEN GUILTY. We all the people need to take a stand the pen is mighter then the sword... If anyone has any comments or would like to email me my email address is kindlady41@yahoo.com I would love hearing your input on how we can stop this. Thank You
My nephew has been falsely accused of molesting his daughter and now sits in jail awaiting trial due to his decieving xwife all because she wanted full custody of their 3 children so she could move out of state She brainwashed her daughter to say these things now the daughter does not live with her but is sticking to the story . It is a terrible thing when someone stoops so low to do that To take a innocent mans life. I believe it needs to be stopped! How many innocent men sit in prison due to false allegations? I know for a fact this is a lie.. And it is not right I think the mother if you want to call her that should be prosecuted and the daughter too.
But, Did she lie? Or was she bought off, .....with the promise she wouldn't see jail for recanting her accusation? This Counselor will only get a small slap on the wrist for very petty offenses, not related to the assault. That's how the corrupt Justice System works. And Nevada is NO exception.
@Mike.H..."They DA should have dropped the case as soon as the girl recanted." I agree 100%, but obviously that's not what happened. Otherwise Draskovich wouldn't have had to request a dismissal from Judge Walsh. Now the DA's office, having chosen to stick with the original statement will have a tough time proving she lied when their decision was to dismiss the recant statement as the lie. And since that statement wasn't made under oath (per information printed above) she hasn't committed a crime. And, even if the second statement was made under oath, and the DA determines that was the false statement, he has a jurisdiction issue, as that statement was made in Utah. Besides the DA's office has a history of ignoring perjury (Bryan Yant) so I doubt, they will pursue this.
@BGHS: They DA should have dropped the case as soon as the girl recanted. Doesn't matter if they beleived it or not, the DA should know that a jury can't convict once the "victim" recants.
They need to prosecute this girl -- either she lied when she pressed charges or she lied when she recanted. Whichever story was false, there need to be consequences.
@Gary1959 ""Only guys go to jail for lying," Grow up!. You ever hear about Martha Stewart? Obviously the DA's office doesn't believe she did lie to them. If they did, they would have dropped the charges the after the girl recanted.
The problem you have with a person changing his or her story is that you never know for sure which version is true. These people are damaged -- and probably always have been and will be.
Totellitasitis wrote on September 12, 2011 09:46 PM:
This time the "victim" told the truth, but what about the times where the "victim" sticks to her lies?
Exactly. An excepted statistic is that 85 percent of sexual assault cases are complete BS. Just go down to the county hospital and each and every day you will see some trollop come in and cry rape to get their free morning after pill after they went out and got pushed, consentually the night before.
This time the "victim" told the truth, but what about the times where the "victim" sticks to her lies? It is too easy to be convicted of a sex crime where sexual intercourse is not involved (and even where it is involved if the "victim" is not a virgin) and all it takes is the "victim's" statement to do it. There is a preconceived idea by most people in society that if a person is accused of a sex crime they must be absolutely guilty of committing it. The only victims that probably do not lie about sex crimes are children who have not reached the sophisticated age and ability to lie about the details of a sex crime.
@RHG---I know of some women who have been charged for filing a false police report, (on this type of crime) AND some have been charged with perjury after they testified and it was proven that they lied in their testimony. But on another note, this guy, (Brox) sounds like a pretty shady character----!