Charged with a Sex Crime

Being accused of a sexual crime can be extremely devastating for both victims and the accused, especially if the individual is innocent. The reality is that so much stigma is associated with sexual crimes, and often times the accused is treated as though he or she is guilty until proven innocent.  It is embarrassing just to be merely accused of a sex crime, let alone convicted. Sex crimes stay on an individual’s record and force them to go on a sexual offenders list, negatively affecting their lives forever, including the accused person’s ability to obtain employment, a place of residence and negatively impacting an individual’s overall reputation.

Penalties for a sex offense can range from a few hundred dollars to several years in jail, depending on the severity of the crime. In New York, the consequence of a felony sexual crime can include up to 25 years in prison and several thousand dollars in fines. Crimes involving children usually carry the worst punishment, whether the incident involved verbal sexual harassment, inappropriate touching or the viewing of child pornography. Considering the harsh penalties and public stigma surrounding these types of crimes, you need to hire an experience criminal defense attorney to protect your rights and get you the best possible outcome. Call Jeffrey Cohen at 718-275-5900 with experience defending sex crimes in all five boroughs.

Sex Crimes in New York include:

Penalties for Sex Crimes in New York

Articles 70 and 80 of New York’s Penal Law list the maximum prison sentences and fines for each degree of felony and misdemeanor. Additionally, sentences can vary depending on the severity of the offense, the number of prior offenses, and the type of offender, for example, a juvenile offender, persistent offender, or violent offender.

New York’s Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA)

The Sex Offender Registration Act, also known as SORA, established a Sex Offender Registry within the New York State. SORA was enacted to assist local law enforcement agencies and to protect communities by: 1) requiring sex offenders to register with the State; and, 2) providing information to the public about certain sex offenders living in their communities.

SORA requires the registration of individuals convicted in New York State of certain sex offenses as well as the registration of those individuals convicted in another jurisdiction if the offense is equivalent to a New York State registerable sex offense.

In addition to the risk level, the court also determines whether a sex offender should be designated a sexual predator, a sexually violent offender or a predicate sex offender.

A “Sexual predator” means a sex offender who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense defined in subdivision three of this section and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes him or her likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offenses. A “Sexually violent offender” means a sex offender who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense defined in subdivision three of this section. A “Predicate sex offender” means a sex offender who has been convicted of an offense set forth in subdivision two or three of this section when the offender has been previously convicted of an offense set forth in subdivision two or three of this section.

Click the following link to see the Risk Assessment Guidelines that determine which factors are used to assess the risk level an offender- Sex Offender Registration Act