If you’ve been accused of sex crimes in Fort Worth, you need a lawyer that understands your situation. The penalties in Texas are severe and can ruin your life forever.
At Hoeller McLaughlin PLLC, we’ve handled thousands of cases throughout the area and are familiar with the law. We work hard to protect your rights and fight to get you the best possible outcome in your case. If you have been arrested or charged with a sex crime, call a Fort Worth sex crime lawyer today so we can start working on your defense immediately.
What’s Next After Being Accused of a Sex Crime?
Being accused of a sex crime can be terrifying and frustrating. Your life may have been turned upside down by this accusation. You may not know what to do or where to turn. Sex crimes are serious charges that can result in:
- Sex offender registration
- Imprisonment
- High fines
- Damage to your reputation
Being accused of having committed any kind of sexual assault can cause serious problems in your personal life, too. For example, landlords, banks, and future employers may perform a background check. If they see prior convictions for sex crimes, it may limit your house and job opportunities.
Types of Sex Crimes
If you’ve been accused of sex crimes in Fort Worth or elsewhere in Texas, it’s helpful to know what’s considered a sex crime. Your lawyer will be better able to defend you if you understand and can explain to them what took place that led to your charges.
But what charges could you face? There are several different types of sex crimes in Texas, including:
- Rape or sexual assault
- Sexual misconduct committed against a minor
- Voyeurism
- Public lewdness or indecent exposure
- Video recording without permission
- Unlawful dissemination of sexual visual content
- Child pornography
- Improper relationship between an underage student and teacher
This is not a comprehensive list. A common misconception about sex crimes is that they only apply if there has been physical contact between two people. However, many of these violations don’t require any physical contact at all. Because of this, it’s important to provide all necessary details to your lawyer to understand your charges.
Building a Strong Case
It’s possible to get your sex crime charges dismissed or sentence reduced if you have a defense lawyer. We’ll be able to prepare your case and help you build a strong defense by using a few proven strategies.
An alibi is one of the first steps to your defense strategy because it’s effective to have one. An alibi means showing that you were not at the scene of the crime at the time it occurred because, for example, you were at work, or with a friend. Proving you weren’t there when the crime occurred can make a big difference.
If the prosecution has no physical evidence such as DNA or fingerprints, your lawyer may be able to argue that the sex crime cannot be proven beyond doubt. If there’s physical evidence against you but it doesn’t directly link you to the crime scene, this could be used as one of many arguments for why your case should be dismissed or your sentence reduced.
For example, if there is blood on clothing but it does not match up with DNA testing results from blood found at the crime scene, we could also use this as one of many arguments for why your case should be dismissed or sentence reduced.
Another way that your defense lawyer can help is by filing motions to suppress evidence obtained by police through illegal searches and seizures. If the judge agrees that police violated your rights by searching you illegally, he or she will throw out any evidence they found during their search.
Call a Sex Crime Lawyer in Fort Worth
It’s important to note that even if the police have enough evidence to arrest you, they don’t necessarily have enough evidence to convict you. That’s why it’s so important to defend your case against these charges, even if you’ve been arrested.
A Fort Worth sex crime lawyer is in your corner. To speak with a lawyer about your case, call Hoeller McLaughlin PLLC at 817-334-7900 or complete our form online.
