COMMON DEFENSE STRATEGIES
FOR SEX OFFENSE CHARGES

Getting charged with a sex offense can be a confusing and overwhelming period. The sex crime charges may have a significant impact on your life if found guilty. You may serve years in a federal or county jail, face punitive fines, and a record in the National sex offender’s registry. As such, you may need to have an experienced criminal defense attorney by your side beat the sexual assault charge or false accusation.

Hire a Criminal Defense Lawyer

Before you wave your rights for an attorney when speaking to the police, you may need to think through the graveness of the accusations laid against you. A sex crimes defense attorney can help you understand your rights, allowing you to make informed decisions about your case. They may also help you understand the consequences or impacts if found guilty. Most importantly, the law firm can help you come up with an effective defense strategy to beat the sex crime charges.

Here are common legal defense strategies that can help you understand the process and protect your rights.

Exercise Your Right to Remain Silent

Prosecutors for alleged sex crimes will often rely on witness statements to build their case. No matter how confident you are about your innocence, it would be best to avoid speaking to law enforcement officers, child protective services investigators, and other officials without a criminal defense attorney present.

While there may be a reasonable instinct to “clear your name,” there is a great deal of ambiguity in everyday language. Your answers may not always have a single interpretation, putting you at risk of sabotaging your case. You may not think fully of how your statement could be interpreted.

Challenge the Evidence Presented With the Law Firm’s Experts

After discovery, your criminal defense lawyer may invite you to review all the evidence presented against you. This step may prompt you to remember relevant details about the said case that you can use to beat the sex offense charge.

Law enforcement officers may collect DNA samples from victims, suspects, and the scene of the crime. Any inappropriate handling of the samples during collection, storage, or analysis could be grounds for suppressing the evidence or kicking out your case. Forensic analysis of the devices used to collect digital evidence is also a critical part of your defense.

Weigh Up the Source of the Accusation

Sex offense cases may at times boil down to “he said/she said” arguments. The accuser’s motives or credibility are a key pillar to the state’s case. If the accuser has a history of making false accusations against the defendant or other people, your criminal defense attorney can call their reliability as a witness into question. However, you may need to tread carefully on child witnesses regarding the sympathy of the jury and the public for minors. Children are susceptible to suggestions and influence by parents, guardians, or social workers. You may need an experienced attorney to weave through carefully to call the reliability of their testimony into question.

Facing a sex offense charge can be a stressful encounter. You may need to remain calm and hire a criminal defense attorney to help you beat the said charges. Defense strategies may vary significantly, depending on the specifics of your case. For more information, reach out to Wolfe & Mote Law Group.