Our Investigation of a Sexual Assault
In early 2017, our firm was contacted by a potential new client who was made aware that he was under investigation for a potential sexual assault of a minor. As is typical with many of these cases, the suspect will be contacted by authorities before any charges are brought in the hope that they will come in and make a statement to the police without a criminal defense attorney present. In this case, our client retained our firm to represent him and we immediately contacted the investigators to see what we could learn about the case.
Many criminal defense attorneys will tell you to never speak to the police, and while in many cases this is good advice, we learned a long time ago that each case is different, and there are certain situations and circumstances where we believe it is in our client’s best interest to cooperate with the police investigation and give a statement.
After meeting with our client in early 2017, speaking with the investigating officers, and conducting our own internal research with our Private Investigator JJ Gradoni, we set up an interview so our client could tell his side of the story. We knew that despite this interview, it was very likely that charges could still be brought, but this gave us a chance to cement our client’s side of the story in the file, After examining the evidence and hearing from both parties, the officer’s did what they often do in these situations and referred the case to the District Attorney’s Office so they could “let the lawyers figure it out”.
The Harris County District Attorney’s filed charges of Indecency with a Child by Contact and Continuous Sexual Assault of a Child.
Indecency with a Child:
The offense of Indecency with a child is broken down into two sub-categories under the Texas Penal Code:
- Indecency with a Child by Contact
- Engaging in sexual contact with a child, under the age of 17; or
- Causing a child, under the age of 17, to engage in sexual contact.
- Indecency with a Child by Exposure
- Exposing your genitals, while child is present, for sexual gratification; or
- Causing a child to expose their genitals for sexual gratification
Indecency with a Child by Contact is a second degree felony, carrying a range of punishment from two to twenty years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. And Indecency with a Child by Exposure is a third degree felony, carrying a range of punishment form two to ten years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Both charges carry the requirement of registration as a sex offender. (https://jackbcarroll.com/practice-areas/sex-crimes/sex-offender-registration-violations-houston-tx/)
Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child:
The offense of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child is the most serious offense under the Texas Penal Code in regards to sexual offenses against children. Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child [Texas Penal Code § 21.02] is charged against a suspect who commits two or more acts of sexual abuse against one or more victims; where the suspect is 17 years or older and the victim (or victims) is a child younger than 14 years old during a period of 30 or more days. This First-degree felony is punished as severely as capital murder: up to 99 years in prison (or life without the possibility for parole) with a maximum fine of $10,000. But conviction of this specific crime mandates a special minimum prison term of 25 years without the possibility of parole or early release. If convicted of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child, the perpetrator must register as a sex offender for life.
Getting to Work on Defense
After charges were filed against our client we immediately got to work with our preferred bonding company on getting him out of custody immediately. Having negotiated his surrender with the local authorities, notifying the District Attorney’s Office, and having it arranged in advanced with a bonding company, our client was booked, processed, and released all within several hours, not having to spend a single night in jail.
After making our initial court appearance we requested all discovery (evidence) and began the waiting game, examining each piece of evidence as it came in over the next few months. Under the Texas and United States Constitution, the Defense has full access to all the evidence that the District Attorney’s Office may choose to use in the prosecution of a case. For a Sexual Assault case, that evidence can be:
- Police Reports
- Offense Reports
- Body Cam Video
- Dash Cam Video
- Pictures
- Forensic Interview Records
- DNA Evidence
- Technology Evidence (text messages, emails, other communications)
- Toxicology Evidence
- CPS Records
- And many more…
Each piece of evidence in a case like this can be a key to understanding not only what happened, but also what direction the District Attorney’s Office will take when prosecuting the case. However as is the norm with many cases, the evidence can take a while to come in, and you find yourself waiting many months to see the full picture as to how the case will develop.
Why Time Helps the Defense
Throughout our practice we see many clients wanting to resolve their cases as quickly as possible so that they can put the case behind them and return to their normal life. We have to remind them that the longer a case goes on, the stronger it becomes for the Defense. Using this specific case as an example, when discovery and evidence collection began to finalize in late 2017, the District Attorney’s Office made an offer to our client, willing to reduce the Continuous Sexual Assault of a Child charge to Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child if our client would agree to a plea bargain of 20 years in prison. This would mean that our client would serve a mandatory minimum of 10 years before even being considered for early release/parole, and would have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Our client quickly turned down the offer and we reiterated our original position, dismiss and drop all charges or we will proceed forward towards trial.
Over the next several months, as discovery was finalized, the District Attorney’s Office began the process of rotating prosecutors to new positions within the office, meaning not only did we have different prosecutors to deal with on this specific case, but that they had to start from zero and completely familiarize themselves with the case before they could speak about it intelligently. While our client was getting eager to take this case to trial and prove his innocence, we had to remind him that the longer the case takes, the stronger it becomes for the Defense. But why is that?
The reason that time helps cases, specifically sex crime cases, is due to the fact that witnesses travel away, change their story, disappear altogether, and sometimes make decisions that will impact their credibility. In this case, the accuser against our client developed a drug addiction that went on for several years. This addiction resulted in several arrests, expulsion from school, and alienation from family and friends who were originally strong witnesses for the prosecution. What started as a strong witness with no criminal history and high credibility, evolved into a witness with a strong criminal history and very weak credibility. Pairing this with the fact that the longer the case goes on the more pressure there is on the prosecution to finalize it, we were in a much stronger position to obtain a positive result for our client.
Finalizing the Case
After nearly four years of fighting the case, having dealt with 5 different prosecutors, 2 different judges, and being moved to 3 different court houses, we were able to obtain a fantastic outcome for our client. Combining our internal investigations with that of our private investigator, we were able to point out enough contradictions and weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case that they knew they would be unsuccessful at trial. Because of this, we were able to obtain for our client:
- DISMISSAL of ALL sex crime allegations;
- NO felony conviction;
- NO requirement to register as a sex offender; and
- Ability to CLEAR his record.
Conclusion
We understand how serious these cases are, which is why we have chosen to make it one of the primary focuses of our practice. Time and time again we have heard from our clients that they would rather be charged with murder than be accused of a sex crime against a child. This is why our office takes the same approach in ALL of our sex crime cases. We investigate each and every claim and piece of evidence personally; we speak to all witnesses personally, and we use an investigator to independently research the case. We learned a long time ago that while an investigator can be helpful, nothing replaces the knowledge an attorney gains while investigating the evidence personally. When it comes to sex crime cases, we keep our strategy simple, either they dismiss the case, or we set it for trial.
If you’re being investigated or have been charged with a sexual offense against a child and are ready to consult with an attorney who is Board Certified® in criminal law, contact our office immediately at 713-228-4607 to set up a consultation today.