Monday, May 23, 2016

Defending the Alleged Child Sexual Offender

What I am about to blog about is at best distasteful and at worst may get me some hate mail Assuming anybody even read this).  The fact is that people are charged with heinous and disgusting crimes.  One of the more disgusting crimes is sexual abuse of a minor child.

"That's terrible.  How can you defend such a person?  They are defiling defenseless children.  They should be killed or at least locked up forever!"

Because the charges are so serious, because the consequences if there is a conviction are so dire, that is exactly why the person accused of such awful crimes needs an attorney.

If you or somebody you love is charged with such a terrible crime  you need an experienced attorney on your side to defend you against these charges.  They are after all just charges, they are not evidence of the crime.  It is the duty of a criminal defense attorney to represent the client zealously within the bounds of the law.  Put another way, everyone is entitled to representation, assertion of constitutional rights, defenses against criminal charges, the presentation of a defense no matter what the charge.

You need an attorney who can examine the evidence, and from that examination build a defense and if a defense is not possible present you in the best possible light.

Not long ago I was defending a man in his 40s who was accused of having sexual relations for many years with a girl significantly under 16 years of age.  The man had no criminal history, a long history of good employment, his own family with minor children.  These charges exploded like a bomb tearing everything he had worked for and loved apart.

As a conscientious attorney I am mindful that the effects on the little girl victim are devastating.  Nonetheless, just because she said it happened does not mean that it did happen.

Without getting into detail, the prosecution's case was fairly strong.  I suggested to my client that perhaps a plea deal should be considered.  The problem was at the prosecution was appalled at my client's behavior and made an initial plea offer wherein my client would agree to 20 years of incarceration.  Some of you might think that's lenient for these type of charges.  I think I have a duty to zealously represent my client.  We kept on negotiating but the prosecution at best offered a 15 year deal.  The upside of the guilty plea was much outweighed by the downside so we went to trial.

At the trial my client was facing six charges.  My client beat three of the charges and lost three of thee charges.  The prosecution argued for 20 years of imprisonment.  We argued for a guideline sentence and the judge listened to our argument and  my client received bottom of the guidelines which was five years of incarceration.  My client had already spent one year on house arrest which in this case counted for incarceration so he actually only had to serve another four years.

There were other factors that I brought to the court's attention that helped  persuade the judge to be more lenient in his sentencing.

Not all attorneys are willing to handle these types of cases.  I am.


1 comment:

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