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Spotsylvania County Rape Lawyer

Under Spotsylvania law, rape is when an individual has sex with a victim against their will, by force, threat, or intimidation. Common rape scenarios include when the victim is under 13 years old, otherwise, has the mental incapacity at the time of the offense, or is considered by law to be physically helpless.

If you are facing rape charges, a distinguished sex crimes lawyer can help you create an appropriate defense based on the facts of your case. A Spotsylvania rape lawyer can clarify any local laws that may affect your case.

Rape Penalties

The potential penalties following a rape conviction in Spotsylvania are serious. Penalties can be up to life in prison but it has to be at a minimum of five years. Rape convictions are five years to life in prison under Spotsylvania law.

Potential Aggravating Factors

Potential aggravating factors to a rape depend on the age of the victim. If the victim is under 13, for example, and the defendant is more than three years older than them, there is a mandatory minimum of more than five years to about 25 years.

Spotsylvania rape lawyers have seen scenarios where courts will also take into consideration whether there is potential for a plan of continuous rape or abuse. If somebody is 18 or older and the victim was under 13, the mandatory minimum is life in prison.

There definitely can be aggravating factors that usually have to do with age. There will be more aggravating factors depending on whether or not the injury to the victim was serious. There could be additional charges that would go along with that. Mostly, the aggravating factors in rape cases would be injury to the victim and also the age of the victim.

Unique Aspects

Specific aspects of rape cases that make it different from other sex crimes cases are the severity of the offense. Certainly, rape is just considered particularly abhorrent to the general public especially in Spotsylvania, and rape is just considered to be an offense that juries in Virginia historically and commonly severely punish somebody who is convicted of rape.

An individual can expect a harsh sentence and the stigma attached to a rape charge. The social stigma can be much greater depending on the nature of the offense.

Building a Defense

It is important to hire a Spotsylvania rape lawyer who has experience with this particular charge for the defense of this charge because it is a situation where the consequences are so severe. The other situation where it would be where a person would facing potentially up to life in prison as a mandatory minimum depending on the facts of the case for rape.

That is something that a person cannot afford to have anybody who is not experienced to represent him or her because what they are looking at is a situation that would result in their permanent confinement behind bars for the rest of their life. The seriousness of that outcome is so great that the person just simply cannot risk that to somebody who is not experienced.

Effects of Hiring an Attorney

An experienced Spotsylvania rape lawyer can limit the amount of damage that is being done for a situation like this and certainly by the statements that a person has been making or by other incriminating evidence that he or she might be giving to the police without knowing that he or she is giving it to them.

They can limit that information and limit that flow of information out to the prosecution and to the police, as they are preparing a case against the person but they can also go ahead and start preparing an aggressive and robust criminal defense case against the person.

They can start preparing an aggressive defense to the crime that they are charged with in order to potentially help him or her be found not guilty but also potentially help limit the amount of charges that can be brought against the person at the end.

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