What to Do If You Are Charged in a Sexual Assault Case

In this age of #MeToo, being charged with a sex crime can lead to the loss of your job, getting kicked out of public housing, and shunning from friends. However, the police often charge people with sexual assaults that did not happen. Therefore, if you get charged in a sexual assault case, you need an experienced sexual assault attorney to defend you.

WHAT IS SEXUAL ASSAULT?

Sexual assault is also called sexual battery in Indiana. Sexual assault /battery is any touching of sexual or intimate parts of another person to gratify one’s sexual desire. It includes touching the victim either above or under clothing.

An element of every sexual contact crime is lack of consent. The lack of consent can be clear from forcible compulsion or a lack of agreement to the perpetrator’s conduct.

Additionally, lack of consent occurs when the victim does not have the capacity to consent. This can be because the victim passed out from drugs or alcohol consumption.

As another example, it could be because the victim was too young to legally consent.

TOUCHING AN INTIMATE BODY PART

An “intimate body part” is an anus, buttocks, sex organs, or female breasts. the perpetrator can make contact through clothes.

NO CONSENT OF THE VICTIM

For a sexual assault to have occurred, the illegal touching must happen without the consent of the victim. For instance, assume a dentist touches a female patient’s breasts as he hovers over her, examining or cleaning her teeth. In fact, he is doing that for his sexual gratification. However, the patient believes the touching is accidental.

In that instance, a sexual assault has occurred even though the patient thought the contact was accidental. Since she did not consent to the touching of her breasts for his sexual gratification, it was a sexual assault.

THE TOUCHING OCCURS FOR SEXUAL GRATIFICATION OR ABUSE

The perpetrator must do the illegal touching to sexually gratify himself/herself or to “hurt, humiliate, injure or intimidate” the victim. In a crowded subway car, a passenger may accidentally brush against the buttocks of another passenger because the subway car stopped short.

That is not a sexual assault.

WHAT ARE THE DEFENSES TO CHARGES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT?

Experienced Indiana criminal defense attorneys can raise several defenses to the charge of sexual assault.

For example, if the touching was consensual, there is no crime. Even if you can show you had a reasonable belief that the touching was consensual, there is no crime.

Likewise, in many sexual assault cases, there is no physical evidence to support the charges. Many cases are a “he said, she said” type of case.

In those situations, experienced Indiana sexual assault lawyers can carefully examine the circumstances of the charges. Often, they can get the sexual assault charges reduced or even dismissed.

Remember, as, with any criminal prosecution, the prosecutors must prove every element of the alleged crime “beyond a reasonable doubt.” That is a very high standard. Experienced Indiana criminal defense lawyers will hold prosecutors to that standard in a sexual assault case.

WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES FOR SEXUAL BATTERY IN INDIANA?

Sexual battery in Indiana is a Level 6 felony. The penalties for a Level 6 felony are six to 30 months in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

However, the sexual battery becomes a Level 4 felony if any of the sexual battery following occurs with any of the following:

• The defendant committed the sexual battery under threat of deadly force;
• The defendant was armed with a deadly weapon;
• The defendant gave the victim drugs, and the victim became incapacitated.

A level 4 felony carries with it a jail term of two to 12 years. Please note the defendant also has to register as a sex offender.

IF YOU ARE CHARGED IN A SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE, GET AN EXPERIENCED INDIANA SEXUAL ASSAULT ATTORNEY

The authorities accuse many innocent people of sexual assault which they did not commit. Our firm understands that your liberty is precious to you and your loved ones. Sex crime defense attorney Alex Mendoza is committed to building the strongest case possible for our clients.

The police and prosecutors must prove every element of the sexual assault crime they charged beyond a reasonable doubt. We will hold them to that high standard of proof.

In fact, the parties resolve most criminal cases through plea deals. In the right cases, we will negotiate a plea for you from a position of strength. However, we will never agree to a plea unless you also agree.

If we cannot settle your case through a plea agreement, we will be prepared to try your case. Of course, we will seek the dismissal of all charges against you.

In short, if you or a loved one have been accused of a crime, you will need an aggressive criminal defense attorney. Call Criminal Lawyer Alex Mendoza Law (219) 200-2000 or email us at info@alexmendozalaw.com for a FREE CONSULTATION.