Aggressive Representation for Charges of Child Molestation in Santa Ana
Your life will change drastically if you are convicted of molesting a child. If you have been accused, you must contact our Santa Ana criminal defense attorney immediately. Our firm, Darwish Law, is well qualified to fight aggressively for your rights. Just being accused of this crime, even if it hasn't yet been proven, can ruin your reputation, both personally and professionally. If you are convicted, you are looking at a prison sentence of years and a lifetime registration as a sex offender. We are dedicated to every client, doing whatever is necessary to aggressively pursue the best outcome possible.
Sex crimes are even more serious when they involve children under the age of 14. Any touching of a child with a sexual intent, even when the touching is accomplished through clothing, can be charged as a crime. You can still be charged even if you thought the child was over the age of 14, or the child consented to the touching. Legally, if the child is under 14, he or she cannot consent. Additionally, every instance of touching can be filed as a separate charge.
There is also the situation where the child is 14 or 15 years old. Molestation charges can be brought if the accused is ten years older or more, although the charges are lesser than when a child was under 14. When the victim is 16 or 17 years old, the crime is changed from child molestation to statutory rape or sexual battery. Regardless, in all these instances, a conviction will result in a lifetime registration as a sexual offender as well as incarceration.
Criminal Attorney in Santa Ana for Child Molestation Charges
People have been accused of child molestation where no crime at all was committed. A child can utter an innocent comment that is mistaken as evidence of a crime. Prosecutors are zealous about convicting individuals in these cases, and they often have intense media coverage, and an innocent person can suffer the consequences of being judged before the trial has even taken place. We do not back down in the face of high pressure. We painstakingly investigate every detail in the case, when can sometimes result in charges being dismissed or reduced. If we take the case to trial, our thorough case development and investigation has proven to be a powerful benefit in meeting that possibility. Call our firm now.