Sex Crimes Against Children

All sex crimes are vigorously prosecuted in New York and a sex crime conviction will follow you long after you have served your time as you will be forever known as a sex offender regardless of whether you are required to register as one. If you are charged with a sex crime involving a child, your ordeal may be even more serious. Your life and your future are very much on the line, and it is crucial that you retain an experienced sex crimes defense lawyer to protect you and your rights.

In New York, a person “less than seventeen years” old is deemed to be incapable of consenting to sex, and any sexual contact between a minor and an adult is a crime. Even without sexual contact, there are numerous other acts from Internet luring to indecent exposure which constitute sex crimes against children and which can result in a lifetime of consequences.

Some of the most commonly charged sex crimes involving children in New York are:

• Rape

  When children are involved, rape charges are sometimes referred to as “statutory rape.”  There are three degrees of potential statutory rape charges, all violent felonies, differentiated by the age of the offender and the age of the victim:
• Rape in the third degree. If you are at least 21-years-old and have sexual intercourse with a child who is less than 17-years-old, you could be convicted of the Class E felony of third degree rape.
• Rape in the second degree. You could be charged with second degree rape if you are 18 or older and have sexual intercourse with a child who is less than 15, so long as you are four or more years older than the child.  Rape in the second degree is a Class D felony.
• Rape in the first degree. Sexual intercourse with a child 11 or younger, or sex with a child less than 13 if you are over 18, will result in first degree rape charges, a Class B felony.

• Criminal Sexual Acts  

  The various statutes charging defendants with a “criminal sexual act” generally mirror the foregoing rape charges in terms of the degrees of charges and the ages of the parties, the difference being the type of sexual activity involved.

• Sexual Abuse of a Child

  This family of charges involves “sexual contact” with a child, which is defined as the touching of the intimate sexual parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification. The degree of the charge typically depends on the parties’ ages:
• Third degree sexual abuse. Among other possibilities, this Class B misdemeanor will be charged if the child is 15 or 16-years-old and the perpetrator is at least 5 years older than the child.
• Second degree sexual abuse.  Among other possibilities, this Class A misdemeanor will be charged if an adult perpetrator has sexual contact with a child who is less than 14 years old.
• First degree sexual abuse. Among other possibilities, this Class D felony involves sexual contact with a child who is less than 11 years old.

In addition to the charges discussed above, if you engage in sexual conduct with a child on multiple occasions, you may also find yourself charged with the crime of “course of sexual conduct against a child.”  If you injure or threaten to injure a minor while committing certain sex acts, you might be charged with predatory sexual assault against a child. Use of the Internet to arrange for sex acts with a minor may also result in serious criminal charges.

Regardless of the specific charges you are facing, if you have been accused of a New York sex crime against a child, the full force of the law and the judgment of society are allied against you. You need a skilled and determined ally of your own to save your future. Please call (718) 852-6763 to speak with one of our experienced New York criminal defense attorneys now.