We hear a lot about assault and battery cases in the news, but can assault and battery be associated with sexual battery and assault? You may be surprised to learn that these charges, although often occurring separately, may go hand-in-hand in some instances.
In this brief article, we spoke to a criminal defense lawyer in Tampa at The Rickman Law Firm who shared some of the major differences between sexual battery and assault and battery, and a few examples of when they might occur together.
Florida Statute Chapter 794 defines sexual battery as what occurs when one party forces another person to engage in sexual intercourse without consent, in a manner that is against their will. If the victim is mentally incapacitated or passed out and is unable to give consent, it is also classified as sexual battery in Florida.
In other words, sexual battery is a broad term for rape.
Punishments may become more severe if the victim was or is currently a minor, if there were multiple perpetrators, or if the offender was an officer of the law or in another position of power. These are all felony offenses, and may be punishable by a minimum of 25 years and a fine to all the way up to life in prison.
The definitions of assault and battery may vary slightly between jurisdictions, and the punishments may vary as well. However, the following definitions may be used:
These differ greatly from sexual battery or sexual assault because these are more general crimes rather than specifically sexual. However, if you threaten someone by stating “I am going to rape you” then you have committed assault, and if you follow through, you have also committed sexual battery.
If you’ve been charged with battery, assault, sexual battery, or any combination of these, you’ll need a team of criminal defense law attorneys in Tampa to help. Contact The Rickman Law Firm today to understand each of your charges and find out the best way to defend yourself.
For a free consultation with criminal defense law attorneys in Tampa, please contact The Rickman Law Firm today.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.
If you’ve been following the news lately, you’ve likely heard that Josh Duggar, the eldest of the children from TLC’s television show “19 Kids and Counting”, has been convicted of knowing receipt and possession of child pornography by a federal court. This conviction has created many questions for those who are afraid of child pornography charges, especially if you are concerned about wrongful accusations.
In this brief article, we spoke to a criminal defense lawyer in Tampa at The Rickman Law Firm to find out more about Josh Duggar’s conviction and how to avoid a similar fate.
Under federal law, any visual portrayals of sexually explicit behavior involving a minor are considered child pornography. This includes drawings or animations of minors in a sexually-explicit nature.
As defined by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, child pornography is “any image depicting a minor engaged in sexual conduct,” including photographs, videos, and computer files, among other forms of content involving a person under the age of 18 engaged in any form of sexual conduct. If you are accused of child pornography, a criminal defense law attorneys in Tampa will be able to help you understand the difference between federal and state charges.
The allegations against Duggar have made headlines because of their severity.
According to the U.S. District Attorney, “[Duggar] was arrested yesterday for receiving and possessing material depicting the sexual abuse of children,” the release began. “According to court documents, Joshua James Duggar, 33, allegedly used the internet to download child sexual abuse material. Duggar allegedly possessed this material, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, in May 2019.”
Now that he has been convicted, Duggar faces up to 20 years or $250,000 in fines for each of his counts.
Through no fault of your own, you may come into contact with child pornography. This can be as simple as loaning one of your devices, such as a cell phone or laptop, to another person who downloads child pornography, or as complex as being hacked on your devices and planted with child pornography. You may also come into contact with child pornography accidentally while engaging in the pursuit of adult pornography.
In order to prevent accusations of child pornography, it is crucial to keep your devices private from those who may use them inappropriately. It is also important to only browse sites that you know and trust to avoid hackers gaining access to your devices and to avoid child pornography in the guise of adult sites.
It might be frightening to think that you may be charged with child pornography when you never actually meant to download the materials. However, although you may find yourself wrongfully accused, criminal defense law attorneys in Tampa can help.
If you’ve been wrongfully accused of possessing child pornography, contact The Rickman Law Firm today to understand the best defense for your case.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.
Accusations can sometimes snowball with multiple people accusing you of the same crime, but all occurring at different times. Not only is this jarring, to say the least, especially when you are being wrongfully accused, but you may get wrapped up in multiple trials for months and years to come.
In this brief article, we spoke with our team of criminal defense attorneys in Tampa at The Rickman Law Firm to share what happens if you are charged with multiple unrelated sex crimes that took place during different occasions.
The biggest question in this case is whether or not all the sex crimes will be heard in the same trial. The short answer: it depends on the individual case, the allegations, and the parties involved, including the district attorney and prosecutor.
Although its hard to answer that question in a general sense, there are a few things that might happen if you are accused of multiple sex crimes.
Let’s say, for example, you are charged with sexual assault by several women in your workplace, all of whom come forward with allegations around the same time. You might wind up being charged with multiple counts of the same crime, which would be included together in the same trial.
Now, let’s look at a different type of situation. Let’s say there is a string of sex crimes within your city that occurred over a span of months or even years. The allegations are different, but the charges are fairly similar in each case.
These might be tried separately, but it’s up to the judge and prosecutor to decide. Typically, for cases to be tried together, they must have some level of connection, which is why these might not be tried together.
You’ll need the best criminal lawyer in Tampa to help you understand how many charges you’ll face and what the trial situation will be like for your specific case.
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention double jeopardy in context of multiple charges for different occurrences of sex crimes. Unlike the Ashley Judd movie, it doesn’t mean you can get away with the same or a similar crime after you already were found not guilty once.
The rule of double jeopardy only means that the government can’t prosecute someone more than once for the same crime. That doesn’t mean that you can never be charged with a sex crime again, it only means that you can’t be tried with the same sex crime for the same time, place, and victim.
Double jeopardy does not mean you won’t face multiple trials for multiple sex crimes.
If you’ve been accused of multiple sex crimes, you will need the best criminal lawyer in Tampa. Contact The Rickman Law Firm today to find out the best defense for your situation and to help you navigate all of your charges, deadlines, hearings, and trial needs.
For a free consultation with criminal defense attorneys in Tampa, please contact The Rickman Law Firm today.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.