What is the current state of the law in the context of a civil action brought by a defendant who has been charged with sexual assault?

⁷ We note that the Heck rule, which requires dismissal of civil suits that necessarily imply the invalidity of the plaintiff's conviction or sentence, only applies when there is an "extant conviction" and not merely an "anticipated future conviction." (Wallace v. Kato (2007) 549 U.S. 384, 393394, 127 S.Ct. 1091, 166 L.Ed.2d 973 (Wallace ) [recognizing that Heck applies only when there exists " a conviction or sentence that has not been ... invalidated "].) Where the plaintiff's civil suit implies the invalidity of an anticipated future conviction, the "common practice" is "to stay the civil action until the criminal case or the likelihood of a criminal case is ended." (Id. at p. 394, 127 S.Ct. 1091.) Upon conclusion of the criminal prosecution, the civil action may either proceed or, in the event of a conviction, be dismissed as barred by Heck . (Ibid. ) As we shall discuss, we adopt a similar approach here.