Maynardville Sex Crimes Lawyer

There are few matters handled in criminal courts that have consequences that can be as serious as those that may apply to people who face sex crime charges. These consequences can begin long before a person ever faces a criminal trial. An accusation alone may be enough to cause someone to lose their job, and their reputation can be destroyed. In a small community like Maynardville, these accusations can be devastating, and they can have an impact on a person for years to come.

The penalties a person can face if they are convicted of a sex crime may include a lengthy prison sentence and the requirement to register as a sex offender, possibly for the rest of their life. Understanding how to defend against sex crime accusations, prevent a criminal conviction, and avoid ongoing penalties will require help from an attorney who understands how to handle these types of sensitive cases.

At The Baker Law Firm, our lawyer can provide the representation needed to address accusations of sex crimes. He approaches every case without judgment while taking steps to protect clients' rights at all times. With his understanding of Tennessee's sex crime statutes, the steps that may be followed by police officers during investigations, the tactics that prosecutors often use in these cases, and the evidence that can play a role in a person's defense, he can take steps to resolve these matters successfully.

Rape and Sexual Assault Charges

When a person has been accused of sexual assault, the specific charges they may face may depend on the type of contact that allegedly occurred, the age of the alleged victim, and other factors. Our attorney can determine the options for defending against charges including:

Rape and Aggravated Rape

Allegations of sexual assault that involved intercourse or sexual penetration may lead to charges of rape. The specific allegations may involve intercourse without the victim's consent that took place through the use of force, as well as situations where an alleged victim could not consent because they were intoxicated, unconscious, or physically helpless. In general, rape may be charged as a Class B felony, but the charges may increase to a Class A felony in cases involving allegations of aggravated rape where an alleged victim suffered a serious injury or a person was armed with a weapon.

Sexual Battery

Sexual contact that does not involve penetration may lead to charges of sexual battery in cases where this contact allegedly occurred without consent. Contact that falls under this category may include touching of someone's intimate areas either over or under their clothing. While a person accused of this offense may face Class E felony charges, charges of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony, may apply in certain cases involving factors like the use of weapons or the infliction of an injury.

Offenses Based on Age

Charges of statutory rape may apply if an adult has been accused of having sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 18. These offenses may be charged as Class D or Class E felonies depending on the age gap between the alleged offender and the alleged victim. Cases involving children under the age of 13 may result in charges of rape of a child, which is often classified as a Class A felony with a potential sentence of life in prison.

How Consent May Affect Sexual Assault Cases

Some sexual assault cases may involve disputes about whether sexual intercourse or sexual contact happened at all. A person may defend against charges by demonstrating that they were not present when a crime took place or that they could not have committed the offense in question. However, other cases may involve situations where sexual contact occurred, but the people involved disagree about whether it was consensual.

To convict a person of rape or sexual battery, a prosecutor will typically need to prove that the contact occurred without consent and that the accused person knew or had reason to know that the alleged victim did not give consent. These issues can quickly become complicated. The use of alcohol or drugs by one or both parties may raise questions about whether a person was able to agree. An alleged victim may claim that they withdrew consent partway through an encounter. Text messages and statements from witnesses may tell a different story than the statements an alleged victim made to police.

Our lawyer can make sure issues related to consent will be addressed correctly when defending clients against charges of sexual assault. He may take steps to show that the accusations against a person were false or exaggerated. He may argue that a person believed that consent had been given. His goal is to resolve these cases while helping clients avoid sex crime convictions.

Online Solicitation of a Minor

Sex crimes involving children are treated seriously by prosecutors. A person who has allegedly communicated with a child in a sexual manner using the internet could be charged with online solicitation of a minor. The penalties for this offense can be serious.

Communications that could lead to online solicitation charges may include messages proposing sexual contact, requests asking a child to share explicit photos or videos, sexual images sent to a minor, or attempts to arrange an in-person meeting with the intent of engaging in sexual activities. Offenses may involve communications through text messages, social media platforms, gaming platforms, dating apps, or other methods.

One of the key issues addressed in these cases is the intent to commit a sexual offense with a minor. Charges may be based on claims that a person believed they were communicating with a person who was under the age of 18. This means that when undercover law enforcement officers pose as minors and communicate with alleged offenders online, online solicitation charges may still apply, as long as the person believed that they were communicating with someone under 18. Our attorney can challenge the claims made by prosecutors in these cases and show that a person believed they were communicating with an adult or that undercover officers engaged in entrapment.

Offenses Involving Child Sexual Abuse Materials

Some of the most serious sex crime charges involve child pornography. Photos or videos that depict minors under the age of 18 in a sexually explicit manner are often referred to as child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). The charges related to CSAM that a person may face include:

• Child Pornography Possession: When a person is accused of possessing CSAM in the form of physical photographs, films, or videotapes or digital files stored on a computer, phone, tablet, external drive, or cloud storage account, they may face a separate criminal charge for each image or video. Charges may range from Class D felonies to Class B felonies.
• Child Pornography Distribution: The penalties a person may face can increase if they are accused of sharing, selling, or distributing CSAM, including by posting it to websites, allowing others to access cloud storage accounts, or sending materials through email or text messages. The charges in these cases may range from Class C felonies to Class B felonies.
• Child Pornography Production: Allegations of using a minor to create sexual material can result in Class B felony charges.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sex Crime Cases