Sex Crime Lawyers Who Will Protect Your Rights

In California, the term “sex crime” encompasses non-consensual or exploitative sexual conduct criminalized by statute, as well as any sexual offenses against children. Penal Code section 290 lists sex offenses that require sex offender registration. All of the crimes listed in that statute are considered sex crimes. 

Some examples of sex crimes are:

• Rape
• Sodomy on a minor or against the victim’s will
• Lewd acts on a child
• Sexual battery
• Oral copulation of a minor or against the victim’s will
• Penetration by foreign object of a minor or against the victim’s will
• Kidnapping to commit a sex crime 
• Abduction of minor for prostitution
• Pandering or pimping minors 
• Possession and distribution of child pornography
• Indecent Exposure

Judges take sex crimes very seriously. If you are convicted of a misdemeanor, you could be sentenced to up to one year in the county jail. If you are convicted of a felony, you could be sentenced to serve years in prison. The stakes are high. If you are charged with sex crimes, you need a good attorney to help avoid conviction and minimize the consequences.

Legally, the court can set bail for many sex crimes. Whether the court will set bail or not depends on the specific charge(s) you are facing as well as other factors like:

• Are you a flight risk?
• Do you pose a danger to the community?
• Are you trying to intimidate witnesses or obstruct justice?
• Are you currently on probation or parole?
• Do you have other cases pending?

Sex crime cases are complicated and carry significant consequences. They can take months or even a year or more to resolve.

Many sex offense convictions will make you deportable under federal immigration law. Some qualify as “crimes involving moral turpitude,” which makes noncitizens inadmissible or removable. Non-citizens convicted of sex offenses can lose eligibility for visas, citizenship, federal student aid, and public benefits. They may have difficulty re-entering the United States once abroad. If you are a non-citizen charged with sex crimes, you should speak to an experienced criminal defense attorney before you make any decisions about your case.

A misdemeanor conviction can result in up to one year in county jail and probation supervision. A felony conviction can lead to years in prison and on parole. Many sex crimes require registration as a sex offender for anywhere from 10 years to life, depending on the crime. Substantial fines can be imposed.

You should consult with a lawyer to see if the offenses you are charged with will lead to sex offender registration. Most sex crimes will result in a duty to register, even if they are misdemeanor offenses.

Some sex crimes can be reduced to misdemeanors. Charges can be dismissed by either the District Attorney or the judge. You need an experienced lawyer to negotiate with the District Attorney to reduce or dismiss charges and to file motions with the court asking the judge to reduce or dismiss charges.

Here are some potential defenses for sex crimes:

1. Consent – if the sexual activity was between adults, consent can be a defense.
2. False accusation – the complaining witness has a motive to lie (revenge, jealousy, child custody disputes)
3. Mistaken identity
4. Alibi – proof that the accused person was somewhere else when the alleged crime occurred
5. Insufficient evidence
6. Illegal search or police error – these can lead to the evidence illegally gathered being excluded at trial

No, many sex crimes can also be charged as misdemeanors.

No, you have a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and not incriminate yourself. You should always consult with an attorney before giving any statement to the police. If the police want to question you, ask for a lawyer. Once you ask for a lawyer, the police must stop asking questions likely to elicit incriminating information.

Yes, children under 18 can be charged with sex crimes, but those cases are heard in juvenile court.

If you are charged with a sex crime as an adult, it is public record, and you will have to disclose it on job applications, etc. If you are charged with a sex crime and you are under 18, sex crimes that involve the use of force are public record, but sex crimes not involving force are confidential and are not made public.

Yes. Many jobs (especially in education, law enforcement, healthcare, etc.) require disclosure of convictions and/or registry. Disclosure can result in disqualification for the position and termination. California Business and Professions Code 2523 mandates revocation of professional licenses of any person required to register as a sex offender, with a few exceptions.

If you have been charged with a sex offense, it means that the District Attorney has possession of police reports that they believe prove you are guilty. If you communicate directly with the District Attorney and/or the court, anything you say can and will be used against you to support the District Attorney’s case. You need an experienced lawyer to review the evidence against you, properly conduct investigations, consider the use of expert witnesses, and build a defense that will convince the District Attorney and/or the judge to dismiss or reduce the case against you.

When deciding whether to hire a lawyer for sex crime charges, you need to know how much it will cost. Fees vary depending on whether the charges are misdemeanors or felonies, whether there have been prior incidents, and the nature of the allegations.

At the Cohen Defense Group, we charge a flat fee so that you know the cost up front. When you come in for your free consultation, we will tell you the cost so that you can plan effectively.