Riverside Sex Crimes Lawyers

The category of sex crimes is relatively broad, and many people don’t understand what falls under this umbrella. In general, sex crimes usually describe coerced or otherwise illegal sexual acts. This can include:

• Sexual assault
• Attempted sexual assault
• Aggravated sexual assault or rape
• Indecency and molestation
• Possession of child pornography
• Internet sex crimes
• Pimping/pandering

The manifestations of these crimes can look a lot of different ways, depending on the situation. No two cases are alike, and two acts that vary in violence and illegality could fall under the same umbrella. It’s important not to jump to conclusions when you are charged. It may not mean that your case is severe, but simply that the courts group sex crimes into set categories and descriptions.

The penalties become more severe when the act was perpetrated against a person 17 or under. The age of consent in California is 18, meaning that any sexual act with a minor, consensual or not, is considered a sex crime. This can get tricky in some situations. It’s not unheard of for parents to have their child’s boyfriend or girlfriend charged if their child is under 18 and their partner is over 18, even if the two are close in age. These types of accusations can ruin lives, even though the two teens were engaging in sexual activity consensually. Hiring an attorney if you are in this situation can help you better protect yourself against accusations or charges. In general, sex crimes with minors are incredibly serious charges and warrant a highly experienced team of attorneys on your side.

There are several types of sex crimes that fall under federal jurisdiction. The categories are:

• Sexual assault of a child or minor
• Child prostitution, whether buying or selling the child for sexual activities
• Distribution or possession of child pornography
• Human trafficking
• Sexual assault that results in the death of the victim
• Aggravated sexual assault, including using weaponry, drugs, or other coercive methods to perform sexual assault

These types of crimes will automatically be tried at the federal level and may be tried at the state level as well. It’s important to note that sentencing for a federal-level sex crime is often far more severe than state-level cases. If your case is to be tried at the federal level, it is imperative that you hire the law offices of Kathleen G. Alvarado to achieve the most lenient sentence possible.

You may be wondering how you can fight a sex crime if there is evidence against you or ways in which your attorney might work to minimize your sentence. There are several options here, and your attorney from the law offices of Kathleen G. Alvarado can determine the best argument for you depending on your situation. Here are just a few grounds on which we may fight your case:

• Innocence. If you are not guilty of the crime that you are being accused of, we will, of course, plead innocence in your case and work to prove that you did not do what you are being accused of.
• Consent. We may be able to show that the sex crime was not, in fact, a sex crime as the person consented at the time of the event. If this is the case for you, consent could be a viable option to begin building your case.
• Entrapment. In some cases, if you were tricked or coerced into an act that was later turned against you, your attorney can argue entrapment to fight your case.
• Insanity or incapacitation. This can be used if you were not in a place where you could accurately or sanely make decisions when the event occurred.

These are not the only ways to fight a sex crimes case, but they cover a lot of common arguments that your Riverside sex crimes lawyer could use for your situation.

When sex crimes allegations are being thrown around, you need to hire an attorney. These accusations are serious and can permanently alter your relationships, employment, housing, privileges, and standard of living. This is not the time to try and fight your case yourself. Laws surrounding sex crimes are very strict, and it will be nearly impossible to get a lenient sentence without an experienced, quality attorney to fight for you. Without representation, you are looking at a longer sentence, harsher convictions, and a longer length of time where you will suffer from this accusation.