Any accusations of crimes against children, especially those of a sexual nature, are extremely emotionally charged – public pressure may force the state to pursue charges against the accused purely based on an uncorroborated statement, with no supporting evidence. No matter how difficult it is, you shouldn’t try to clear your name in the court of public opinion on your own but hire the best child sexual abuse lawyers to defend you.
When accusations such as this arise, people are predisposed to believe children so you need to defend against the charges proactively. At M|C Criminal Law, we have child sexual abuse lawyers with the expertise to fight your legal battle and who understand the emotional toll sexual abuse accusations can take on a person. We can be with you through every step of the process, until your name is cleared. But first, we need to know all the details of the case. Contact us to explain the situation.
In Texas, the sexual assault of a child is the equivalent of rape in other states and it is defined in Texas Penal Code §22.011; a person can be charged with sexual assault of a child if they are accused of causing the penetration of a child’s mouth, sexual organ, or anus, or causing the child’s mouth, sex organ, or anus to penetrate or come into contact with another person’s mouth, sex organ, or anus. For the purposes of this law, a child is anyone under the age of 17.
Aggravated sexual assault is an enhanced charge and is defined in Tex. Penal Code §22.021. A person can be charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child if, during the commission of the offense, certain aggravating factors are present:
In addition to sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault, a person may be charged with indecency with a child, which covers all sexual contact between an adult and a person under the age of 17 that is not covered by sexual assault laws, and sexual performance by a child, which prohibits getting a person under the age of 18 to perform sexual acts.
If you have been accused of any of these crimes, you need to contact child sexual abuse lawyers immediately to start preparing a defense.
Child sexual assault can be punishable as a second- or first-degree felony, while aggravated child sexual assault is a first-degree felony. The penalties are:
Indecency with a child may be classified as a third- or second-degree felony, while sexual performance by a child may be classified as a third-, second-, or first-degree felony. In addition to imprisonment and fines, a person convicted of a sexual crime against children may:
A conviction will also lead to a permanent criminal record, which can have a multitude of negative consequences on a person’s future. All of this is on top of the damage to the reputation of the person convicted for a crime against children. In short, any type of conviction can make it extremely hard to lead a normal life, which is why it is imperative to be represented by the best child sexual abuse lawyers from the beginning.
We can’t prevent the accusations from hurting you, but we can mitigate the damage to your reputation and fight to prevent any type of conviction. There are many defenses that can be utilized, from demonstrating that the complaining witnesses are not credible to showing that you were misidentified to proving that the situation was a misunderstanding and not sexual in nature.
Depending on the circumstances of the case, our child sexual abuse lawyers will craft a unique defense strategy that will have the best chance of success. However, for a successful defense, we need to know everything and conduct our own inquiries. Contact us to start working on your defense today.
