If you are accused of sexual assault or sexual assault on a child (molestation), you need experienced legal help fast. This is true when you are falsely accused. However, it is equally true when you are caught "red-handed." Only a criminal lawyer who handles many such cases is qualified to assist you defend against sexual allegations.
Not all criminal lawyers take these difficult cases. I represent many people in these circumstances. I believe that it is important to fight for these people as hard as for any other client.
Sometimes these cases need to be tried. If you are falsely accused of a sex crime, you cannot afford to admit to something you did not do. On the other hand, the incentive to plead guilty is often great and the consequences of losing at trial are enormous.
As with any criminal case, a lawyer must be prepared to negotiate from a position of strength. He must be armed with information favorable to you and must uncover information that damages the accuser's credibility. Finally, he must know how to try a case, and must know how to win!
The law is often against you and the penalties are harsh.
The law is highly specific to this field. Juries are often biased towards children. The police assume that you are guilty before you ever enter a courtroom. There are many exceptions to the usual hearsay rules. It is a challenge getting evidence that we want before a judge or jury, or keeping out evidence that we do not want exposed.
The way to win these cases and, where appropriate, to minimize the consequences, is careful and thorough preparation, investigation, and the judicious use of expert witnesses. Sometimes we also use a private polygraph examination (lie detector test).
If you are accused of a sex crime, you need to know that the legislature has repeatedly taken steps to impose harsh penalties for these offenses. The legislative climate regarding these cases is highly politicized. As a result, the risks associated with these stigmatizing charges are great.
Often, You Risk:
- lifetime supervision
- lifetime therapy
- life in prison
- registration as a sex offender
- loss of job prospects
- isolation from family
Release from prison will likely be conditioned upon completion of rigorous "Offense Specific" Treatment. Likewise, any Probation will carry stringent treatment provisions.
In fact, even upon a plea to a "non-sexual crime," a person originally charged with a "sex crime" still must undergo the presentence evaluation (including a mental health sex-offense specific evaluation) based on the factual basis of the case. This examination and any treatment might include physiological testing, including polygraphs and penile plethysmographs are recommended in the evaluation process. If these options are not used, other means for measuring deception and/or deviant sexual arousal must be part of the assessment.
Manage These Risks with an Aggressive Attorney
There is no substitute for aggressive representation in a case like this. Your life may literally be hanging in the balance, and you may not get a second chance to defend yourself. My clients count on me to do everything possible to fight these cases vigorously.
Denial is a Violation
Probation sentences in these cases requires "admitting" the offense conduct. Sex offenders who continue to deny the conviction offense will not be placed on community supervision or will be violated on probation.
Serious sex offenses carry lifetime probation supervision. Failure on this type of probation could spell disaster, should the defendant fail to the extent that prison is imposed. Such cases carry “to-life” sentences that are likely to amount to a life prison sentence under Colorado law.