Fighting an Accusation of a Sexual Offense in Texas
Being charged with a crime can have a serious impact on an individual’s life, but when those charges involve accusations of sexual offenses, the penalties for conviction and the impact on the person’s reputation and future can be severe. A conviction for a sexual offense not only affects the individual’s liberty for the duration of their sentence, but it could also mean being required to register with the Texas sex offender registry for the rest of their lives.
Even if a person is acquitted of the charges, there is still often a stigma the person carries with them long after the case has been resolved. It is for these reasons that anyone who is accused of a sexual offense should contact a Plano, TX defense attorney immediately.
Defending Against Sex Crime Accusations
Many individuals who have been accused of committing a sexual offense worry that there is no defense against the charge and that the jury will believe they are guilty no matter what the truth may actually be. While many jury members may feel that people who commit sexual offenses should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, they are also charged with being fair and impartial, promising to listen to all the evidence presented by both the prosecutor and the defense attorney, and only vote a defendant guilty if the prosecutor has proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
A skilled and experienced criminal defense attorney may be able to use one or more of the following methods to defend you:
-
Suppression of evidence: The prosecutor will have evidence that it will want to present to the jury to prove you are guilty of the crime you are accused of. However, if your constitutional rights were violated during the collection of any of the evidence, the judge will rule it inadmissible. One common violation of rights cited is the protection from unreasonable search and seizures under the Fourth Amendment. If the police failed to obtain the proper search warrants to conduct the search where the evidence was seized, it cannot be used against you.
-
Witness testimony: Prosecutors often rely a great deal on witness testimony to prove their cases. However, a skilled defense attorney can discredit the testimony of a witness during cross-examination. Examples of this can include showing the witness’s recall of events does not make sense or showing that the witness has some kind of ulterior motive to point the finger of accusation at the defendant.
-
Police misconduct: While the majority of police officers are honest and do their jobs according to the law, there are some officers who will bend the rules in order to make their case against the accused. A good example of police misconduct is the bullying tactics some officers use in order to elicit confessions from defendants. Unfortunately, those tactics can often lead even innocent people to confess to crimes they did not commit.
Contact a Plano, TX Defense Attorney
If you are being accused of committing a sexual offense, do not delay in contacting a skilled Collin County sex crimes attorney in order to begin defending against these charges. The longer you wait, the more at risk you are of being convicted. Call The Crowder Law Firm, P.C. at 214-544-0061 to schedule a free consultation and find out how our firm can help.
Source:
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/docs/pe/htm/pe.21.htm