Houston Child Sex Crimes

When talking of Houston child sex crimes, it will be helpful to first understand how allegations are made.

Allegations are generally made to a third party-the "outcry" witness usually-who in turn notifies police or CPS. The child and in several instances the parent(s) of the child submit a preliminary report. This is to enable the police to confirm that a crime has been committed and that they have jurisdiction to investigate the case.

In the course of their investigation, the police will normally schedule an interview of the child with a forensic "expert" from Child Protective Services. The police will also arrange for an immediate medical examination to check whether there is any physical evidence of abuse. In fact, some Child Advocacy Centers or (CACs) have a medical clinic to handle these issues.

With regard to child abuse cases, there may not be any evidence of penetrating trauma. But that will not necessarily mean that the crime did not take place. The prosecutor or police will say no physical findings were consistent with sexual abuse (of course, the defense lawyer will counter they are consistent with NO sexual abuse).

The medical reports can contain statements of the child as to which body parts he/ she were touched. The contents of the medical report are usually accepted as evidence at the trial court.

Texas has Child Advocacy Centers or (CACs). These Child Advocacy Centers have specially trained forensic interviewers who know how to professionally conduct the interview - in keeping with legal norms. The problem is these trained forensic interviewers often do not follow the rules for interviewing.

The usual practice is to interview the child alone and the interviews are to be done in a non-leading way and the interviewer is to strictly use only non-suggestive techniques. The child will be sent back to an investigator with the police department for recording a statement. Some police agencies in Texas will even ask the child try and call the accused person when tape recording the conversation.

The police will collect a statement from the person to whom the child first reported the matter. Article 38.072 of the Code of Criminal Procedure will ask this person (who is expected to be above 18 years of age) to testify in court. In addition, the police will normally take statements from every other person with whom the child has discussed the complaint.

To further strengthen the case, the police will look for corroborative evidence such as - telephone records, hotel records, lingerie, photographs, e-mails etc.

When the police confront the accused person, they will try to obtain a confession. If they cannot get a confession statement, they will try to collect other corroborative evidence. If charges are accepted, the accused person will be required to post a bond and certain conditions will be imposed.

A good defense lawyer is familiar with these procedures. He will know the failures and weaknesses of the police investigation. He will exploit every opportunity to show reasonable doubt.

An overview of sex crimes in Houston Texas

Sexual assault, especially when it involves a child, is a very serious crime. To be falsely accused, it is a nightmare. Neal Davis has represented many defendants charged with sex crimes and has gotten results. He knows how to defense these cases, and the prosecutors know he means business.

The State of Texas, as well as federal prosecutors, treat child sex abuse and sex exploitation very harshly. They will not hesitate to use whatever resources they have to go after a defendant. The problem is that these prosecutors and investigators often see only through the prism of guilt and are incapable of believing a child could lie about something as serious as sex abuse.
In any sex crimes case, there is an assembly line to the prison. The child complainant outcries, child advocates or CPS interviews the child, police proceed with their investigation, charges are filed, the defendant is arrested, he goes to trial or pleads, and often ends up in jail if not registering as sex offender.

You need a Houston, Texas criminal attorney who knows how to handle these cases. More than any other case child sex offenses are botched by attorneys who do not know the nuances of these cases. You have to have a lawyer who knows how to stop this assembly line to prison and sex offender registration.

Here is a complete list of all the sex crimes you could be accused of within the State of Texas. These classifications are found in Texas Penal Code. Prosecutors have discretion in how they charge the case. They will generally charge the most serious case they are satisfied they can prove. They will not hesitate charging multiple crimes if necessary, such as:

• Indecent exposure


• Indecent contact with a child


• Indecent exposure to a child


• Improper relationship between a student and a teacher


• Aggravated sexual assault


• Sexual assault


• Prostitution and promotion of prostitution


• Compelling prostitution


• Injury to a child


• Sale/distribution/display of harmful materials to minor (aged under 17)


• Sexual performance by a child


• Possession or promotion of child pornography.

You cannot afford to take risk with an inexperienced lawyer for proving you are not guilty. Houston defense attorneys are well versed in all of the above mentioned elements and the best will fight as hard as they can to reach the best result they can obtain. That is exactly why you should hire the best criminal lawyer in Houston TX, that you can afford.

The punishment varies depending upon the severity of your offense. For example aggravated sexual assault is a first degree felony with a punishment range of 5 to 99 years imprisonment. And do not forget about the collateral effects of just being charged, from destroying your reputation to being a societal outcast.

To know more about Child Sex Crimes, contact our Houston criminal lawyer firm. We can help. Do not go this alone. Hire an experienced Houston criminal defense lawyer to clarify your doubts and concerns. Log onto, www.houstoncriminalattorney.com for more details.