If you’ve been charged with a sex crime in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, get the legal advice and advocacy you need to pursue the best possible resolution to your charges. Contact SMT Legal for a free consultation with an experienced sex crimes defense attorney, and let us take the stress of your case off your shoulders by vigorously advocating for your interests.
Don’t stand up for your rights and future alone. Our dedicated attorneys can help you defend your rights and reputation against allegations of sex charges by:
Independently investigating your charges, including talking to potential witnesses, securing surveillance footage, and reviewing cell phone and social media records to identify compelling defense arguments for your case
Working with forensic experts as needed to review and understand complex evidence
Explaining your charges and preparing you for what to expect during prosecution
Explaining your rights and options to you so you can make informed decisions throughout your case
Vigorously contesting the prosecution’s case, including moving to exclude unlawfully obtained or inadmissible evidence or challenging the sufficiency of the case for trial
Aggressively defending your rights and interests, even when that means taking your case to trial
At SMT Legal, our sex crimes defense lawyers advocate on behalf of clients facing all types of sex-based offenses, helping them protect their reputation and future by pursuing favorable outcomes. Let us help you seek a fair resolution for charges like the following.
Rape
State law defines the crime of rape as engaging in sexual intercourse:
By forcible compulsion or threat
With an unconscious person
With a person who has a mental disability, or
With a person suffering from impairing intoxication
Sexual Assault
In Pennsylvania, sexual assault occurs when a person engages in sexual intercourse without a person’s consent under circumstances that would not constitute the crime of rape.
Indecent Assault/Aggravated Indecent Assault
Indecent assault occurs when a person does any of the following without the other person’s consent:
Has indecent contact with a victim
Causes the victim to have indecent contact with the offender, or
Causes the victim to contact seminal fluid, urine, or feces to arouse sexual desire,
The law defines “indecent contact” as touching of sexual or intimate parts of a person for gratifying sexual desire.
Indecent Exposure
A person commits the offense of indecent exposure if they expose their genitals in public or in any other place with other people present under circumstances in which the person knows or should know that their exposure will likely offend or alarm other people.
Statutory Sexual Assault
The law makes it a crime for a person to engage in sexual intercourse with an individual under the age of consent in Pennsylvania (16), regardless of consent to the sexual activity.
Unlawful Dissemination of Intimate Image
Pennsylvania’s “revenge porn” law makes it illegal for a person to distribute an image or recording of a current or former sexual or intimate partner in the nude or engaged in sexual conduct without that partner’s consent and with the intent to harass, annoy, or alarm them.
Sexual Extortion
A person commits the crime of sexual extortion when they:
Intentionally or knowingly coerce or cause a victim to engage in sexual conduct, simulation of sexual conduct, or nudity, or
Make, produce, or distribute any image or recording depicting the victim in the nude or engaging in actual or simulated sexual conduct
Child Pornography Offenses
Our firm represents individuals charged with the possession, distribution, or creation of child pornography.
Unlawful Contact with a Minor
Pennsylvania law makes it a felony to contact a minor to solicit them for sexual activity.
Prostitution and Solicitation
In Pennsylvania, a person commits a crime when they engage in sexual activity for financial compensation or hire or offer to hire someone for sexual activity for compensation.
Penalties for a conviction for a sex offense under Pennsylvania law depend on the grading of the offense. Sex crimes may qualify as felony or misdemeanor offenses, depending on the severity of the crime. Sentences for sex crimes can include the following penalties:
First-degree felony: Up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000
Second-degree felony: Up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000
Third-degree felony: Up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000
First-degree misdemeanor: Up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000
Second-degree misdemeanor: Up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000
Those convicted of sex offenses may also face additional consequences that last long after paying a fine and serving a prison term. Most defendants will have to register as a sex offender upon release from incarceration. An individual may have to register for 15 or 25 years or for life, depending on their offense.
A criminal record containing a sex conviction can also harm an offender’s ability to pursue employment, housing, or educational opportunities due to their record showing up during background checks.
Individuals facing charges of sex offenses in Murrysville may pursue various defense strategies to seek a dismissal or acquittal or to fight for a more favorable resolution in their case. Common defenses raised in sex cases include:
Consent: Many sex crime cases turn on the issue of consent, with the defendant arguing that the alleged victim validly consented to the sexual encounter.
Mistaken identity/alibi: A defendant may challenge the reliability of a victim’s or witness’s identification of the defendant as the perpetrator or present alibi evidence to prove that they were somewhere else when the alleged sex crime occurred.
Fabrication: In a fabrication defense, a defendant alleges that a purported victim has fabricated their sex crime allegations against the defendant due to various motivations, such as retribution against the defendant, pursuing an advantage over the defendant in another legal proceeding, or the victim’s mental illness.
Lack of intent: A defendant may fight a sex charge by arguing that they lacked the required mental culpability or intent to commit the charged crime.
Unreliable forensic evidence: Defendants may challenge the admissibility, reliability, or persuasiveness of DNA or other forensic evidence by challenging testing methods or highlighting issues in the chain of custody of the evidence.
Unlawful search/seizure: A defendant may seek to exclude evidence or inculpatory statements by arguing that investigators obtained them through an unlawful search or interrogation that violated the defendant’s rights.
If you’ve been arrested and charged with a sex crime in Murrysville, don’t leave the outcome of your case to chance. Get the legal representation you need to protect your rights and restore your future. Contact SMT Legal today for a free, confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney to discuss how our firm can help.
You can reach our office located at 114 Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222:
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