If You’ve Been Charged With Criminal Sexual Conduct in Minnesota, Contact Attorney Joshua London Right Away!
Being charged with or investigated for criminal sexual conduct can be scary and confusing. The intense prosecution of sexual related crimes is staggering in Minnesota state courts as well as in federal courts across the country. Frequently the odds are stacked against individuals accused of these crimes. London Defense has represented clients from all walks of life that have been charged with criminal sexual conduct. No one is immune from being accused of criminal sexual conduct, even when there is absolutely no evidence that the crime was committed. London Defense has represented many individuals charged with criminal sexual conduct based only on an alleged “victim’s” story to police. Unfortunately, these cases are often “he said, she said.” It’s important to have an attorney that will get to the bottom of an accusation and is willing to fight false accusations at trial.
Minnesota’s Five Degrees of Criminal Sexual Conduct
- Criminal sexual conduct in the first degree is defined as sexual penetration of another person, or sexual contact with a person less than thirteen years old, along with some other aggravating circumstances. Aggravating circumstances may include use or threat with a dangerous weapon or the person is under thirteen years old and the offender is more than three years older than the person. The sentence is up to 30 years in prison and/or up to a $40,000 fine.
- Criminal sexual conduct in the second degree is sexual contact (not necessarily penetration) with another person and some aggravating circumstances like those in first degree criminal sexual conduct. The sentence is up to 25 years in prison and/or up to a $35,000 fine.
- Criminal sexual conduct in the third degree is sexual penetration of another person with some aggravated circumstance generally less severe than those needed for first degree criminal sexual conduct, such as the offender knows the other individual is mentally impaired or physically helpless, the two have a psychotherapist-patient relationship, or the offender was a masseuse to the other. The sentence is up to 15 years in prison and/or up to a $30,000 fine.
- Criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree is sexual contact (not necessarily penetration) with another person and some aggravating circumstance like those in third degree criminal sexual conduct. The sentence is up to 10 years in prison and/or up to a $20,000 fine.
- Criminal sexual conduct in the fifth degree is an act of non-consensual sexual contact or certain acts of the showing of the genitals to an individual under sixteen years of age. This offense can be a gross misdemeanor or a felony. If it is a gross misdemeanor it carries a sentence of up to 1 year in jail and/or up to a $3,000 fine. If it is a felony, it carries a sentence of up to 7 years in prison and/or a $14,000 fine.
Contact An Experienced Attorney Right Away
If you are convicted of criminal sexual conduct, the law requires that you register as a criminal sexual and predatory offender. Unfortunately, such a conviction can follow you around for years, if not your entire life. It is imperative that you hire a criminal sexual conduct lawyer the moment you believe you are under investigation.