Essex County Sex Crimes Lawyer

Essex County Sex Crimes Lawyer

You got arrested in Essex County last week, maybe charged with sexual assault after a date in Montclair went wrong and she’s claiming it wasn’t consensual, maybe aggravated sexual assault involving someone under 13 years old, maybe criminal sexual contact where prosecutors claim inappropriate touching, maybe you’re facing false accusations from an ex-spouse weaponizing the system during a custody battle, and the charge reads sexual assault under N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2 or aggravated sexual assault if penetration was involved, and you don’t know what you’re facing because sex crimes in New Jersey carry consequences beyond prison time where mandatory Megan’s Law registration follows you for life, Parole Supervision for Life with GPS ankle monitoring forever, can’t live near schools or parks, employment becomes nearly impossible, your name and photo on public sex offender registry where neighbors can see it, and the prison sentences are devastating where aggravated sexual assault is first-degree with ten to twenty years and you must serve 85% under the No Early Release Act, and if the alleged victim was under 13 years old the Lunsford Act requires 25 years to life imprisonment, and aggravated sexual assault in Essex County is first-degree, requires proof of sexual penetration by force or coercion, or penetration where the victim was physically helpless, mentally incapacitated, or under 13 years old with ten to twenty years in state prison, $200,000 fine, must serve 85% under NERA before parole eligibility, mandatory Megan’s Law registration, Parole Supervision for Life, and if the victim was under 13, the Lunsford Act mandates 25 years to life with no possibility of parole for 25 years minimum, while sexual assault, second-degree, involves sexual penetration without the aggravating factors, typically penetration without consent but victim over 13 and not physically helpless bringing five to ten years prison, $150,000 fine, 85% NERA requirement, Megan’s Law registration, Parole Supervision for Life, and criminal sexual contact under N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3, fourth-degree, involves sexual touching not penetration, touching intimate parts for sexual gratification without consent with up to 18 months prison, $10,000 fine where Megan’s Law registration may apply depending on circumstances, and Megan’s Law registration means convicted sex offenders must register with the state, provide current address, employment information, vehicle information, update every 90 days, and registration is public in most cases where Tier 1 offenders who are low risk have registration information available to law enforcement only, Tier 2 offenders who are moderate risk mean schools and daycare facilities in the area get notified, Tier 3 offenders who are high risk get public notification where your information goes on the public sex offender registry website where anyone can search your name, see your photo, see where you live, and most sex offenders remain on the registry for life since fifteen-year removal petition is theoretically available if you had only one offense and can prove you’re no longer a danger to public safety, but Essex County prosecutors fight these petitions aggressively and judges rarely grant removal, while residence restrictions mean you cannot live within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds, daycare centers in many municipalities, which effectively eliminates most housing options in Essex County given the density of schools and parks in Newark, Montclair, Bloomfield, everywhere, and Parole Supervision for Life is mandatory for sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault convictions in New Jersey where after you serve your prison sentence and get released, you wear a GPS ankle monitor for the rest of your life, you report to a parole officer regularly whether weekly or monthly depending on your tier, you have a curfew, you can’t leave the state without permission, you can’t use the internet in many cases, you can’t go to places where children congregate, the parole officer can show up at your home unannounced any time day or night to check on you, violate any condition of PSL and you go back to prison since this is lifetime supervision where if you’re released from prison at age 35, you’re wearing that ankle monitor and reporting to parole when you’re 50, when you’re 70, when you’re 90 if you live that long, and thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group, a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek where we’ve represented clients in Essex County sex crimes cases for over 40 years, many, many cases at the Veterans Courthouse in Newark, if you’re reaching out to us we understand the stakes you’re facing.

False accusations happen in Essex County sex crimes cases more often than people realize where custody battle means the mother accuses the father of molesting their child to win custody and restrict visitation, revenge accusation after a bad breakup where the ex-girlfriend claims rape to hurt you, regret after consensual sex where the alleged victim felt guilty afterwards and claims it wasn’t consensual to absolve herself, teenagers lying to parents about why they were out late, claiming sexual assault instead of admitting they snuck out, and the prosecutor in Essex County doesn’t investigate whether the accusation is true, they just file charges if someone makes an allegation and there’s any evidence to support it where defense strategies include challenging the accuser’s credibility, demonstrating motive to lie, showing inconsistencies in their statements to police versus testimony, presenting evidence of prior false accusations, text messages or social media posts contradicting their claims.

Consent defense applies when the sexual contact was consensual where she’s claiming rape but text messages after the encounter show she was happy about what happened, wanted to see you again, witness testimony that she was flirting with you all night, initiated physical contact, invited you back to her place, and the prosecutor has to prove lack of consent beyond reasonable doubt, and if the evidence shows consent or creates reasonable doubt about consent, you should be acquitted, while mistaken identity applies when you weren’t the person who committed the assault where victim was assaulted but doesn’t know their attacker, police arrested you because you matched a general description, but you have an alibi or evidence proving you weren’t there, and age misrepresentation cases where the victim was under 16, New Jersey’s age of consent, but told you she was 18 or older, showed fake ID, you reasonably believed she was of legal age.

Former Essex County prosecutors who now do sex crimes defense know the Special Victims Unit prosecutors who handle these cases, know the judges at Veterans Courthouse and their sentencing tendencies, know which judges believe accusers automatically versus which judges scrutinize accusations carefully, know how Essex County handles forensic evidence like rape kits and DNA testing while at Spodek Law Group our attorneys have handled many, many sex crimes cases in Essex County, challenged false accusations, secured acquittals at trial, negotiated charge reductions when possible, but most work happens preventing that Megan’s Law registration and lifetime GPS monitoring that destroys someone’s future forever.

Call 212-300-5196.