The jury trial date for a former San Mateo police officer accused of sexually assaulting five woman was moved Thursday from Feb. 5 to April 30 so his new attorney could prepare, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
When Paul DeMeester, the court-appointed defense attorney for Noah Winchester, 33, appeared in court Thursday for the first time since he was appointed to the case Friday, Oct. 20, and allegedly asked for more time to prepare for the trial. DeMeester has replaced attorney Michael Rains as Winchester’s defense attorney, who has previously represented police officers accused of misconduct and allegedly could not be retained for Winchester’s case after the Peace Officers Research Association of California said it could no longer pay for his services, according to prosecutors.
Winchester, of Stockton, could face life behind bars if convicted of the 19 felonies alleging he sexually assaulted five women between July 2013 and October 2015, according to prosecutors. Winchester was employed by the San Mateo Police Department when he allegedly raped three female victims in San Mateo in 2015; and was employed by the Los Rios Community College Police Department when he reportedly abused two victims in Sacramento in 2013, according to prosecutors.
Several of the victims were also kidnapped and threatened, with some indicating they feared reporting the assaults as Winchester was a cop, according to prosecutors.
Winchester remains in custody on $3.1 million bail and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Shortly after the allegations came to light, Winchester was fired from the San Mateo Police Department.
Many of the allegations include he was on duty in uniform when the crimes occurred. This is a conversation parents should have with their daughters. Paul DeMeester is the attorney who represented DDA Melissa McKowan when she was charged with dishonesty by the Sate Bar court date was April 17, 2017.
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Many of the allegations include he was on duty in uniform when the crimes occurred.
This is a conversation parents should have with their daughters.
Paul DeMeester is the attorney who represented DDA Melissa McKowan when she was charged with dishonesty by the Sate Bar court date was April 17, 2017.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.