What To Do When You Get Arrested for a Sex Crime

What To Do When You Get Arrested for a Sex Crime

If you have been charged with or arrested for a sex crime, what you say and do next will largely determine what happens now. This can be a scary, emotional, and confusing time, but right now, your best bet is to stay calm and to carefully choose your best course of action.

Your freedom, your family, and your future depend on it.

To help you make the best choices that protect your rights and your interests, here is a list of what you should – and shouldn’t – do if you are facing sex crime charges.

If police officers show up at your home or place of business with an arrest warrant to take you into police custody, it can come as a complete shock. Your first emotional responses may be surprise, confusion, denial, anger, and fear. Do not give in to these negative emotions. Right now, they will not help.

Despite the stress of the situation, the steps you take moving forward may well ultimately decide if the charges are dismissed, you are acquitted and allowed to go free, or if you are convicted and face the maximum sentence.

DO Ask What the Charges Are

As guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution, you have the legal right to know the nature of the charges against you. If a police officer arrives with an arrest warrant, that document should list all of the offenses of which you are accused.

Although you also have the Constitutional right to face your accusers and to know what supposed evidence against you that the State intends to introduce, the arresting police officers will not typically give you that information. Your criminal defense lawyer will obtain that information during your court appearance.

DO NOT Resist Arrest

When you get arrested, the police officers at the scene do not care at all about your guilt or innocence. That is not their role in the criminal justice system process. Their job is to take you into police custody, transport you to the police station, and keep you in jail until you can make your initial court appearance, also called an arraignment.

At the arraignment court appearance, that is when you will be able to plead “guilty” or “not guilty.” Your criminal defense sex crimes lawyer will “tell your side of the story” with evidence and testimony during future court appearances.

At this point, when an arrest warrant has been issued, nothing you say or do will prevent these officers from arresting you and taking you into police custody. If you let your emotions take over and you try to run, escape, resist arrest, or even worse, fight the officers, there can be no positive outcome.

At best, you will face additional charges. At worst, you could be injured or even killed.

Even if you are 100% innocent and facing false charges, now is not the time to fight them. Your criminal defense lawyer will do that during your court appearances.

DO Exercise Your Constitutional Rights

You also have certain rights that are guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment. Specifically, you have the right to remain silent. Exercising this specific Constitutional right might be the single most important thing that you must do when you are arrested for a sex crime – or any other criminal offense, for that matter.

As stated before, police officers are not there to determine your guilt or innocence. They do, however, have the authority to gather any additional evidence, including any statements you make.

Nothing you say to police officers or investigators can help your case, but anything incriminating that you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. This is one of the biggest mistakes made by people who are arrested.

No matter what investigators tell you – that they just want to clear things up, that this is your chance to tell your side of the story, that they can’t help you unless you talk, etc. – you are under no obligation to speak to them.

Sometimes, however, it is in your best interest to answer questions, but never on your own. To avoid self-incrimination, you need a Michigan criminal sexual conduct lawyer present to protect your interests and your rights.

Even if you have a verifiable alibi or there is evidence that proves your innocence of the sex crime, your CSC lawyer needs to present those facts to the investigators. Framed properly, this puts legal pressure on the police and on the District Attorney. It could even weaken their case against you to the point that charges are dropped and you are released from police custody.

At the very least, your CSC defense attorney will help you understand the charges against you and the possible consequences. They will also be able to file motions for discovery of any evidence or witnesses against you, which helps them prepare the best sexual assault defense strategies moving forward.

DO NOT Pick the Wrong Criminal Defense Lawyer

Unfortunately, not all criminal defense attorneys are created equal. Someone who practices general criminal law might provide adequate defense if you are charged with everyday crimes, such as domestic violence against a family member, larceny, or a reckless driving charge where the worst penalty is losing your driver’s license.

Sex crime laws in Michigan, however, are complicated and nuanced. Often, the difference between being charged with a misdemeanor sex crime or a felony offense is a matter of legal interpretation and argument during a court appearance.

This is important, because the maximum sentence for certain sexual assault crimes is life in prison without the possibility of parole.

When you are arrested for a sex crime in Michigan, you need a specialist – an experienced criminal defense attorney who focuses on sex crimes. Due to their unique area of law practice, they will know how to make the right arguments, the right challenges, the right motions, and the right objections, at the right time.

Likewise, do not opt for a public defender. These attorneys, while providing a necessary public service, are typically overwhelmed and overworked. Not only are they not legal specialists, their caseload is usually so heavy that they cannot commit the necessary time or criminal defense resources to providing you with the best possible defense.

Often, you may only be able to meet with your public defender for a few minutes right before a court appearance. That is not nearly enough time to develop a proper strategy to beat a serious sex crime charge.

DO Pick Blank Law, PC

Being charged with a sex offense is an extremely serious, rest-of-your-life situation. When the stakes are this high, you definitely need a sexual abuse defense lawyer who has the proven experience, the specialized expertise, the well-earned reputation, and the dedicated passion to fight for your legal rights and your future.

With over 50 years of combined experience focusing on Michigan sex crimes, Attorneys Nicole Blank Becker and Christopher Coyle of Blank Law, PC are your best and most-trusted resources for sexual assault defense strategies.

● Experience You Need – Nicole Blank Becker has over 20 years of experience dealing with sex crimes, working as both an Assistant Prosecutor for Macomb County and as a private defense attorney. Her extensive experience includes serving as the Chief of the county’s Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Crimes Units.

Christopher Coyle worked for more than 30 years as a Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor, eventually rising to Deputy Chief of the Special Victims Unit.

● Specialized Expertise – With such vast professional experience, both Nicole and Chris can anticipate the moves and strategies of the prosecution. This gives Blank Law, PC a distinct advantage when preparing your most effective criminal sexual conduct defense.

● Outstanding Reputations – Nicole and Chris have each earned their justifiably-stellar reputations within the Michigan criminal justice system. This recognition within the local legal community helps them to be taken seriously when they challenge evidence, exports, testimony, and witnesses.

It also helps them broker the best plea bargain deal on your behalf to avoid riskier and more expensive trials.

● Passion and Dedication – As experienced sexual assault defense lawyers, Nicole and Chris have dedicated their entire professional legal careers to fighting for the legal and Constitutional rights of people just like you.

Taking the Next Step

To receive a free initial case consultation from Blank Law, PC, please use this convenient contact form. Send us the basics about your case, and one of our attorneys will review the information and contact you for follow-up.

Please DO NOT send any confidential, sensitive, or personal information, as our contact form is not encrypted and cannot be considered secure.

Also, please note that merely sending this contact form does not immediately create a privileged attorney-client relationship. That status will be determined during the initial consultation.

There is no such thing as a minor sex crime. When your freedom and your future are on the line, do not settle for less-than-adequate representation. You need nothing less than the best sex crime lawyers in Michigan.

You need Blank Law, PC, so contact us TODAY.