Elements of a Sex Crime in Bucks County
As defined by the Pennsylvania Crimes Code inclusive of Bucks County, a sex crime is an act of unlawful touching of an unlawful location upon a person’s body. Sex crimes involve any sort of touching where a person is unable to consent due to age, mental capacity or consent simply has not occurred. Therefore, sex crimes are all inclusive of an unlawful touching of one by another in a certain way is defined by statute as a sexual act. Anyone accused of a sex crime should immediately consult an experienced Bucks County sex crimes attorney who can assess the facts of their case.
Common Sex Crimes
In Bucks County, some of the most common types of Bucks County sex crimes offenses are those charged with the higher levels of felonies and particularly some felonies in the first, second and third degree. In particular, some of the most common sex crimes involve statutory sexual assault, rape, rape of a child and/or rape or unlawful touching of a person lacking the mental capacity to consent to such touching.
Additionally, charges such as unlawful contact of a minor, corrupting the morals of a minor, endangering the welfare of children and a gambit of other charges all come into play when it is decided what specific charges will be placed for a particular act.
Sexual Battery Charges
Sexual battery is not a crime by definition pursuant to the Crimes Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. However, under common law, sexual acts and battery combine together to form other acts such as rape, unlawful contact, indecent assault or sexual assault among others. Therefore, in Pennsylvania inclusive of Bucks County, types of Bucks County sex crimes offenses include the act and the more specific intent of such act.
Rape is forcibly attacking another in a manner where the other person does not consent and engages in some sort of sexual act by definition. Therefore, all the elements of common law, battery and/or sex crimes come into play. Other charges such as sexual assault, indecent assault, IDSI and/or corrupting the morals of a minor, endangering the welfare of children also come into play. These are just more specific crimes charged specifically with a particular act as opposed to a sex crime generally.
In Bucks County, when an accused is charged with a sexual battery such as rape they can face up to another 10 to 15 charges. Whether they be lesser included charges or not will follow. When a person is the subject of a rape in Bucks County and papers are filed and a complaint is made to the district court level, the accused should expect that a gambit of charges will follow the rape.
Potential Sex Crimes Penalties
Depending on the types of Bucks County sex crimes offenses, an attorney can begin their defense by establishing the facts of the case and the government’s evidence against the client’s. It is important the lawyer try to preserve and defend their client’s rights because sex crime sentences can be in excess of 20 years of incarceration.
They often involve acts that seem or are defined in a heinous manner and involving perpetuation of such acts against someone who is either protected, a minor or simply did not give consent. Therefore, they are the type of charges that can carry in the area of 11 and a half to 23 months in custody to 20 to 40 years of incarceration. Under the right circumstances with the right defenses of even consent when available, an individual otherwise facing long years of incarceration can now try or seek out an acquittal or work out some sort of negotiation for a sentence much less than what is typically required by law.With an experienced Bucks County, sex crimes criminal defense attorney can suggest diversionary programs, probation, short county sentences and other alternate sentences that are typically available for convictions of a sex crime or a lesser-included offense.