Sexual Assault Defense Attorneys in New York, NY

As sexual assault defense attorneys, we make sure that our clients are well represented in criminal investigation and prosecution.

An assault defense attorney can provide legal advice and guidance, can evaluate the case to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the prosecution’s evidence, and can develop a customized defense strategy based on the unique circumstances of the case. Should need be, an assault defense attorney should be ready to protect the accused’s interests by defending in litigation through a challenge of unlawfully obtained evidence and the skillful cross-examination of the witnesses.

What is Sexual Assault?

Sexual assault is a general term that can mean any form of unwanted or nonconsensual sexual conduct. New York Penal Law defines sexual conduct as sexual intercourse, oral sexual conduct, anal sexual conduct, aggravated sexual contact, or sexual contact.

Sexual contact is broad enough to refer to any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person for the purpose of gratifying sexual desire. Sexual assault can also can even include indecent exposure of one’s private and intimate parts to a child, despite not having any touching involved.

In New York, sexual assault can be considered a Class A Misdemeanor or A-II felony, depending on the type of unwanted sexual conduct. An experienced assault defense attorney can find the weaknesses in the prosecution’s evidence, given the particular elements of the sex offense, to ensure the best possible outcome for the client.

Defenses in Sexual Abuse and Assault Charges

A charge of sexual abuse and assault is generally difficult to prove, especially because these types of acts are usually committed in private with no witnesses involved and are normally reported later after many years from the time the incident happened.

A sexual abuse and assault defense attorney can employ a number or combination of defenses, given the unique circumstances of the client’s case, such as statute of limitations, lack of evidence, consent, alibi, and mistaken identity. To know more about the defenses in a sexual assault charge, there is more information here:

What Can an Assault Defense Attorney Do for You?

Facing a sexual assault charge can be traumatizing, whether it is true or not. These charges can have major repercussions in one’s education, career, immigration status, or ability to obtain a professional license, if not handled correctly. For this reason, an assault defense attorney should be contact immediately upon knowledge that you are being investigated for the crime. This allows the attorney to immediately craft a strong legal defense that can be used from the onset, while the offense is being investigated and you are not yet being targeted as a suspect. It ensures a consistent story and defense all throughout, from the investigation process up until litigation, if it ever arrives to that process.

Police Investigation

When you are being investigated by the police for sexual assault, it is important to already be represented by an assault defense attorney. This ensures that you do not say anything that can be used against you in the future and that all evidence acquired by the police are obtained from other sources and not from the accused himself. When the police finds that there is evidence to file charges, they turn over the case to the prosecutor.

Case Assessment

An assault defense attorney can review your case to evaluate the evidence of the prosecution and identify its strengths and weaknesses. Each element of the sex offense must be proven beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution. In case one element cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, the case can be dismissed. An experienced assault defense attorney will know whether the prosecution’s case is strong or not. This gives the attorney the opportunity to leverage the weakness during negotiations with the prosecution.

Defense Strategy Development

After reviewing the case, the assault defense attorney can develop a customized defense strategy that is unique to the situation. It can employ a combination of defenses, such as alibi, mistaken identity, and lack of evidence. When these defenses are supported by testimonial and documentary evidence, there is a higher likelihood that the prosecutor may decide to dismiss the case.

Plea Negotiations

Negotiating with the prosecution is important because the district attorney, with its workload, does not like to prosecute all cases, especially when evidence is weak. Prosecuting cases where evidence is weak will just lead to acquittals. For this reason, it is important for an assault defense attorney to point out to the district attorney the weaknesses in the case. This can lead to a non-filing of the charge or plea-bargaining.

Plea bargaining in sex offenses usually results to a reduction of the charge, allowing the conviction on a misdemeanor charge instead of a felony, reducing the number of counts in a charge, reducing jail time, providing for probation instead of jail time, and avoiding having to register as a sex offender.

Litigation

When the district attorney refuses to drop a charge and the client insists on his innocence, it is the assault defense attorney’s duty to defend in trial. This involves challenging the admissibility of the prosecution’s evidence, skillfully cross-examining the witnesses to undermine their credibility and expose inconsistencies, and to present evidence that support’s the client’s assertion of innocence.

Appeals

An assault defense attorney can also appeal the verdict if the accused is convicted.

Facing the charges of sexual abuse and assault can be traumatizing. Having an experienced sexual abuse and assault defense attorney to help you prepare a strong defense and to represent you with the police and/or prosecutor is important to ensure you continue having a clean criminal record. Should you need legal representation, we, at the law offices of Albert Goodwin, are here for you.We are located in New York, NY. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].