California has enacted a number of different statutes covering different types of online sex crime charges. Law enforcement agencies are using full force to enforce these laws. If you believe you were wrongly accused of an online sex crime charge, you need to take all measures possible to fight these charges. The first step is to hire an experienced Central Valley sex crimes defense attorney to protect your legal rights and avoid a conviction.
Relevant California Online Sex Crime Statutes
Below are some of the relevant California sex crime statutes:
- Penal Code 311 PC – child pornography,
- Penal Code 288. 2 – sending harmful material to a minor,
- Penal Code 288.4 PC – arrange meeting with minor for lewd purposes,
- Penal Code 272 PC – contribute to delinquency of minor,
- Penal Code 647(j)(4) PC – revenge porn,
- Sexting under child porn laws.
Although there are many online sex crime statutes, the most popular is Penal Code 311.11. This code section criminalizes possession, sending, transporting, duplication, exchanging of child pornography. Child pornography includes not only obscenity, but also any depiction of a child engaging in or simulating a sexual act. In order to be charged with a violation of Penal Code 311.11, the prosecutor does not need to prove that the matter is obscene.
How to Fight Online Sex Crime Charges
The penalties for a conviction of any type of online sex crime charge are severe with enormous collateral damage. These serious penalties make it imperative that you immediately hire an experienced and aggressive Central Valley criminal defense lawyer to avoid a conviction.
Once you have hired an attorney, they will look at the specific facts of the charges against you and devise a strategic defense based on the evidence the prosecutor has used to bring the charges against you. Some defense strategies include:
- Lack of knowledge argument
- Entrapment of innocent suspect through the use of a sting operation
- Self-incrimination and violations of rights to an attorney
- The conduct was consensual and permitted under the law
- Depiction was not sexual in nature
- Alteration or fabrication of evidence
- Gaps in the chain of custody of critical evidence
- Prosecutor or investigator withheld exonerating evidence
- The online sex crime charges qualify for mental-health diversion resulting in dismissal of the charges
Call an Experienced Central Valley Sex Crimes Defense Attorney
If you or someone you know has been charged with a sex crime in the Central Valley, it is in your best interest to immediately consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney to help you learn your legal rights and options.
For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation with Central Valley sex crime defense attorney Gurjit Srai, please call (209) 323-5558 or complete our online form.