Sex Crimes

Texas is known as a state that is especially tough on crime. While this applies across the board to all types of crime, nowhere is it more apparent than how the state handles sex crimes. Depending on the government’s allegations and your past record, a conviction for a sex offense could land you in prison for the rest of your life. At Guest and Gray, we understand the challenges that facing this type of prosecution brings. Suddenly everyone begins looking at you differently, just because someone made unsubstantiated allegations that you committed a sex crime. This isn’t right, and it’s not how the law works. You are innocent until proven guilty, and it’s the government’s job to prove you guilty—if it can.

When most people think of a sex offense, images of forcible sexual contact come to mind. And certainly, this is one type of sex crime. However, Texas law broadly defines what constitutes a sex crime. One thing that many people do not realize is that you can be charged with a sex crime even if you never touched another person. The following are all examples of Texas sex crimes.

• Continuous sexual abuse of a child;
• Indecent exposure;
• Indecency with a child;
• Maintaining an improper teacher/student relationship;
• Obscenity.
• Possession of child pornography;
• Prostitution;
• Public lewdness;
• Sexual assault (rape); and
• Voyeurism.

While the seriousness of each of these charges varies, a conviction for any of these can have a profound impact on your life. Thus, at the moment you learn you’ve been charged with a sex crime, it is imperative that you reach out to an experienced attorney to protect your rights.

Sex crimes are some of the most serious charges in Texas. Depending on the nature of the offenses and your past record, you can face a lengthy prison sentence, years of probation, and astronomical fines. However, even if you are able to avoid the most serious consequences of a conviction, you must still deal with the collateral consequences that come along with a sex crime conviction.

For example, many sex offenses require you to register as a sex offender. If so, you will need to continually provide local law enforcement with your updated information. You will also be prohibited from living in certain places. Further, this information is public, which makes it much harder to obtain a job, get into school, or obtain most professional licenses.

Just because the government charged you with a sex crime doesn’t make you guilty. In fact, a judge or jury cannot find you guilty unless the prosecution proves each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The result is that, although these crimes are extremely serious, there are a number of defenses.

One of the most common defenses to a sex offense involves challenging the alleged victim’s story. Prosecutors often bring these cases with very little evidence. In some cases, the only evidence is the alleged victim’s testimony. Of course, people can be mistaken, or there may be several reasons why someone would fabricate these allegations. An experienced Forney criminal defense lawyer can help you determine the best way to show that the alleged victim’s testimony is not credible.

If you are facing a Texas sex crime, it is imperative that you reach out to a knowledgeable criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. While it is easy to think that the judge or jury will see through the bare allegations against you, there is too much at stake to risk making this assumption. At Guest and Gray, we take a strategic and calculated approach to every case we handle. We will go over every possible defense with you to ensure that the defense strategy we ultimately rely on has the best likelihood of success. To learn more, and to schedule a free consultation, give us a call at (972) 564-4644 today. You can also connect with us through our online form.