Stafford County Sex Crimes Lawyer

Sex crime charges are treated incredibly seriously in the Commonwealth of Virginia. These charges often come with severe consequences that can have an impact on an individual’s personal and professional lives in the long term.

If you have been faced with such a charge, it is pertinent that you contact a knowledgeable Stafford County sex crimes lawyer immediately. An attorney will be able to build a strong defense that can assist in reducing or dismissing any penalties you may be facing.

Intimidation of a Sex Crime

Sex crime charges are incredibly intimidating because of the far-reaching consequences which come along with them. First, there is a huge social stigma that attaches to being convicted of a sex crime. This will have an effect on an individual’s personal life, and in many cases will have an effect on their current employment or their ability to secure employment in the future.

In addition, most felony versions of sex crimes will come along with the requirement that a person be placed on a sex offender registry. In Virginia, if an individual is placed on the sex offender registry, depending on the severity of the case, they will have to re-register with the state police for at least the next 15 years, on either an annual basis or every 90 days. To avoid this entirely, an individual should be sure to hire a Stafford County sex crimes attorney to fight to have their charges either reduced or dropped entirely.

Finally, these charges are very sensitive, and often involve intimate, private information, which most people would not want to come to light in an open court or public setting.

Benefits of Representation

It is important for anyone charged with a sex crime to work with an experienced Stafford County sex crimes lawyer. The stakes are incredibly high any time a person is charged with a sex crime. In addition to the stigma that comes with the conviction, and the sex offender registry, there are often significant active incarcerations which go along with this kind of case.

Also, these cases involve very specific evidence, and very particular tactics which are employed by the prosecution in order to try to win the case. This is not the kind of thing that an individual will want to allow to be someone’s learning experience. If a person is faced with charges like this, they will need someone who has a great deal of experience in the field.

Severity of a Sex Crime Investigation

The investigation in sex crime cases is different than in other cases because of the kinds of evidence which the police and the prosecution will attempt to collect. First, there are testimonies and statements made by an alleged victim in most cases, to which the defense will not have access. There are laws which govern the degree to which an individual can use certain methods to impeach the credibility of an alleged victim.

In addition, there are a number of these crimes which involve computer data of some kind. This could include a person being charged with possession of child pornography or a sting operation, where a police officer poses as a teenager online, soliciting someone for sex. These things leave both a paper and electronic trail, and are brought to bear at trial. The lawyer needs to be familiar with this kind of evidence and how to attack it.

Personal Complications

A couple of the aspects of sex crimes which are different from other crimes include the far-reaching stigma and perception that a person faces upon conviction, in their personal life as well as in their public employment settings.

Beyond that, there are very specific kinds of evidence used in these cases, and very specific tactics used on each side that the person will face. A lawyer needs to be familiar with all of these. The way that a Stafford County sex crimes lawyer can help is by making sure that an individual’s rights have not been violated, challenging the government’s evidence, being by an individual’s side to walk them through the process, help them know what to expect, and assist the person in achieving the best possible outcome under their particular facts and circumstances.

Types of Sex Crimes

There are a large number of sex crimes that an individual can be charged with in Stafford County. A sexual offense is, generally speaking, any prohibited sexual activity which violates a Virginia law. These offenses are incredibly serious, and can often only be properly defended using a Stafford County sex crimes lawyer. These are broadly going to either be misdemeanor offenses or felony offenses. These charges can include:

• Rape
• Statutory rape
• Date rape
• Aggravated sexual battery
• Object sexual penetration
• The possession or distribution of child pornography
• Indecent liberties with a child

Among the more common felony sex crimes in Stafford County are aggravated sexual battery, indecent liberties with a child, as well as possession or distribution of child pornography.

Role of an Attorney

The roles of an attorney in sex crime cases are quite varied. The first role is to be the advocate for their client, and to defend the case by challenging the government’s evidence, making sure that their client’s rights have not been violated. They will bring forth the best evidence and arguments on their client’s side, to help them achieve the best possible outcome in the case.

Another important job that an attorney has is to keep the client informed, to communicate with them regularly, and to make sure that they know what to expect in all the important phases of the case. The attorney will help them make important choices which need to be made in every phase of the case.

Trust between the attorney and the client is paramount. A person who is facing these charges has most likely never been in this situation before. They do not know the law or what to expect. They are going to be relying on the experience and advice of their Stafford County sex crimes lawyer. The individual has to be able to count on trusting the lawyer to assist them, not just in defending the case, but also in making important choices in every phase of the process.