Just being accused of a sex crime can ruin your life. You can lose your job. You can be kicked out of school. Your marriage and family life can be destroyed. The stigma of a sexually-motivated offense is unlike that associated with any other crime.
Just look at the case of the three young
Duke University lacrosse players who were accused of rape a few years ago. While they were ultimately proven
to be innocent of what turned out to be false allegations, their lives
were uprooted while the media labeled them rapists.
The problem is, though, that all it takes is an accusation to get someone
arrested for a sex crime. It could be none other than a typical he-said,
she-said situation. But sex crimes detectives are relentless, and if they
think that an alleged victim is telling the truth, they will arrest you.
It doesn't matter if there is physical evidence or not.
I have represented clients charged with sex crimes, and I can tell you,
it takes the knowledge and experience of a
Miami-Dade County criminal defense attorney to adequately represent someone charged with a sex crime. Sex crimes such
as sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation, and even
misdemeanors such as indecent exposure, all carry harsh penalties.
Most sex crimes occur between people who know each other. So most of the
time, it takes little more than an accusation for someone to find themselves
charged with a crime. What's even more disturbing is that families
in the midst of divorce may cause feuding spouses to turn their children
against each other, causing the children to make up horrific lies about
sexual abuse. Unfortunately, this can lead to an arrest for a sex crime
against a child, such as sexual battery on a child, or lewd and lascivious
molestation of a child. These crimes are almost always handled by specialized
units within the Miami-Dade and Broward State Attorney's Offices,
by prosecutors who want nothing more than to lock up those accused of
such crimes.
The penalties for sex crimes in the State of Florida go far beyond prison
time. You may be designated as a sexual offender, or sexual predator,
which will not only render you practically unemployable, it will literally
dictate where you can and can't live. In Miami-Dade County, many sex
offenders are forced to live underneath a highway overpass.
Furthermore, the law in Florida allows for prosecutors to hold you in custody
even after you are released from prison. Florida's
Jimmy Ryce Act permits the indefinite, involuntary civil committment of a convicted sex
offender, beyond the time they are sentenced. This literally allows the
State to keep you locked up just because they think you
might reoffend.
Additionally, Florida punishes convicted sex offenders for failure to register.
Failing to Register as a Sexual Offender or Sexual Predator is a felony
of the third-degree punishable by up to five years in prison. If you are
accused of this charge, call me today so we can get your registration
up to date and hopefully get your criminal charges dismissed.
Otherwise, if any of the aforementioned charges pertain to you or someone
you know, call me, a sex crimes
defense attorney who practices in Miami and Broward. Call me so that I may help you or
your loved one fight these charges.