Monmouth County Sex Crime Defense Attorney

How Our Attorneys Can Help You Fight Sex Crime Charges

When you’re facing a sex crime charge, you don’t have to do it alone. Our dedicated sex crimes attorneys are here to help you stand up for your rights. At Marshall Criminal Defense, we have the knowledge, resources, and experience to fight for you.

Our lawyers can help fight a criminal charge that is sexual in nature in many ways, including:

• Taking immediate action to protect you. When you’re facing sex offense charges, it’s essential to get protection fast. Our attorneys have decades of experience defending and prosecuting people accused of sex crimes. We know the legal processes involved, we understand how prosecutors approach these cases, and what actions are critical after someone is charged. We’re available 24/7 to help.
• Fighting for bail reductions. In many cases, the amount required for bail can be reduced. However, it requires careful negotiations and knowledge of the law. Our experienced lawyers know what’s involved and will work tirelessly to reduce your bail. We’ll use our experience, our resources, and every tool at our disposal to help reduce the amount of bail our clients are required to post.
• Independently investigating your case. When you’re accused of a sex crime, our attorneys will investigate the charge and work to find any inconsistencies or false evidence involved. Falsified testimony, faulty tests, and many other forms of questionable evidence can be involved with a case. We’ll put our experience to work for you and challenge every piece of questionable evidence.
• Advocating for you and working to have the charges reduced or dropped altogether. In some cases, charges may be dropped by authorities. In others, charges may be reduced to a lower category crime meaning a lesser punishment. We’ll use our knowledge and experience to help fight the charges against you, and we’ll work to get them reduced or to get them dismissed completely.
• Working to obtain plea bargains when appropriate. In some cases, clients prefer to take a plea bargain. Our experienced attorneys know the law and the process of negotiating plea bargains. With years of experience defending and prosecuting those accused of sexual offenses, our lawyers can help during every aspect of the plea bargain process.
• Aggressively defending you in court. With criminal charges, there is always the possibility that a trial will be required. If it is, we’re prepared to defend you. In every case, we bring the knowledge and experience we’ve earned over decades of prosecution and criminal defense experience. When a trial is required, we’ve got your back, and in those cases where a conviction is inevitable, we’ll advocate for minimum and alternative sentences.

In every case, the attorneys at Marshall Criminal Defense bring the strength, knowledge, and experience that we’re known for. We pride ourselves on the hard work and experience derived over decades serving as Monmouth County sex crimes lawyers. Let us help you. If you’re facing sex offense charges, contact us today.

Penalties for Sex Crimes in New Jersey

In New Jersey, there are severe punishments for those convicted of sex offenses. Fines, prison time, and possible listing on a sex offender registry are all possible. Some common sex offenses and their punishments include:

• Lewdness. Lewdness may be charged as a disorderly persons violation when someone commits a lewd or offensive act that is likely to be observed by others. The punishment for this may include jail time up to 6 months and a fine up to $1,000. Lewdness may be charged as a fourth-degree crime when the individual exposes their intimate parts to a child or those with mental disorders to arouse or gratify a sexual desire. This crime is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and fines up to $10,000.
• Prostitution. Prostitution is typically treated as a disorderly persons offense on the first violation and may subject the convicted to up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. On subsequent convictions, it will be treated as a fourth-degree crime that may carry up to 18 months in prison and fines of up to $10,000. Also, if a vehicle was used in the crime, the court may suspend the convicted individual’s license.
• Sexual assault. Also known as rape, sexual assault carries serious penalties that depend on the age of the victim, the relationship with them, whether there were threats involved, and many other elements. This crime is generally treated at a minimum as a second-degree felony with up to a 10-year prison sentence. If the crime is aggravated, that is threats or violence are involved, the crime is treated as a first-degree crime with a jail term of up to 20 years.
• Megan’s law. After conviction in many sexual offense cases, individuals must be listed with a public sex offender register. Those who are found to carry a medium to high risk of offending again must be listed. This register makes offender’s information public and can have significant consequences on an individual’s future. It can be difficult to obtain employment, can subject individuals to public shame, and can lead to many complications.
• Parole Supervision for Life (“PSL”). In many sex crimes cases, a repercussion of a conviction is parole supervision for life, commonly referred to as PSL. What this means is that you will be subject to parole for many years following completion of any jail/prison time or probation.

These and many other sex offenses carry serious punishments in New Jersey. Punishments range from fines to decades in jail, along with mandatory listing on a sex offender registry. These are major punishments that can change the course of your life and destroy everything you’ve worked for. You should also know that a sex offender restraining order also often arises when someone is arrested for a sex crime. If you’re charged with a sex offense, you definitely want to speak to our experienced Monmouth County sex crimes defense lawyers as soon as possible.

Possible Defenses to Sex Crime Charges

When you’re facing sex offense charges, it can seem like there’s no hope, but an experienced sex crimes lawyer can defend you and fight for your rights. There mat be many ways to defend against a sex offense claim, including showing evidence of your innocence, attacking false witness testimony, addressing confused identifications, and dealing with consent issues.

• Establishing your innocence. In many sex offense charges, the individual charged with the crime will assert their innocence. A lawyer can help you establish innocence by investigating what you were doing at the time of the alleged offense and by establishing a strong record that shows you could not have done the act at the time and place in question. Credit card statements, witness testimony, travel documents, and other records can be invaluable in showing an individual’s innocence.
• Consent. Consent is a critical element of many sex offense cases. Lack of consent is usually a key element in bringing a sex offense charge against an individual. When consent can be shown in some instances, there are often no grounds to bring a sex offense charge. Consent may be difficult to establish since it is often the word of the accused against the word of the accuser. In some cases, the accused may have received consent for a sexual act only to have charges brought against them later on. When addressing consent issues, lawyers will need to look at evidence such as witness testimony, prior and subsequent statements, and other key pieces of information. In some cases, consent cannot even be considered. For cases involving minors or those with mental impairments, courts assume that the target of the offense cannot give consent.
• False witness testimony. In many sexual offense cases, it comes down to the word of the alleged offender against the alleged victim. There are many cases of the alleged victim giving false or misleading testimony against the accused. Mental issues, revenge, attention, and many other forces can motivate an individual to give false testimony. A lawyer will question the alleged victim, witnesses, and work to discover any false or conflicting statements in their testimony.
• Misidentification. In some cases, it’s possible for the accused to be misidentified. Perhaps someone who resembled you committed a crime and you were mistakenly identified, or perhaps the alleged victim didn’t get a clear view of the perpetrator and confused you with the actual attacker. Targets of sexual assault may think that one specific person committed the crime when, in fact, it was another. DNA tests, witness testimony, alibis, and other evidence can help show misidentification. A lawyer can review the evidence, investigate the allegations, and work to uncover any evidence of misidentification.
• Illegally obtained evidence. When police gather evidence, they’re required to do so according to strict procedures. When those procedures are not followed, or the evidence is improperly gathered, it may be invalid. A sex charge defense lawyer understands the evidence involved in a charge and can work to suppress evidence that was illegally and improperly gathered by police.

These and many other defenses may be available to overcome sex crimes charges. The selection and use of defenses will depend on the circumstances and evidence in your case. If you’re facing a sex offense charge in Monmouth County, contact the experienced attorneys at our Freehold Office to discuss your case.

Types of Sex Crime Defense Cases We Handle

At The Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, we defend individuals on a wide range of sex offense charges. With decades of experience defending and prosecuting those accused of sex crimes, we understand how the process works.

We are here to defend clients from charges including:

When you’re facing these or other sex offense charges, speak with our defense lawyers about your case as soon as possible. Sex crimes are serious charges, and it’s in your best interest to have a knowledgeable and experienced lawyer involved as soon as possible. The experienced sex charge defense lawyers at The Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall can advise you on what to say and what actions to take to protect yourself.

Get Help from Knowledgeable Monmouth County Sex Crime Defense Lawyers

Conviction on a sex crime charge can lead to a lifetime of problems. Our experienced and knowledgeable attorneys have worked as prosecutors and as defense lawyers, so we know what it takes to fight a sex offense charge. Regardless of the nature of the accusations, a lawyer can start your defense immediately and work to protect you.

Our sex crimes lawyers clearly have credentials that are unparalleled in terms of year of experience, trial experience, former members of the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office and sheer number of litigators defending this variety of criminal case. We know how these sex cases are built and pursued by prosecutors in Freehold, and we can put our knowledge to work for you. If you’re charged with a sex offense in Monmouth County that is now pending at the courthouse in Freehold, we are here to help you.

Our lawyers are available 24/7, and we offer a free consultation about your case. Contact us online or call our Middletown Office or Freehold Office now.

Frequently Asked Questions