How Can a Felony Sex Charge Impact Your Life?
Being charged with any crime can create major issues and changes in your life. However, being charged and convicted with a felony sex crime can impact you beyond a prison sentence. Felony sex crimes are defined by Florida Statutes Chapter 794, but what you might be surprised to learn is that you may also be charged with federal sex charges.
Whether you are facing federal or state charges, your life will be negatively impacted if you don’t have the right legal counsel to help your defense. In this brief article, a Tampa felony defense attorney with our team at The Rickman Law Firm has shared a few ways your life can be impacted by felony sex charges, and how to protect your rights and your life.
Criminal Penalties
The first and most obvious impacts to your life are the criminal penalties. Depending on the charges you are facing (and whether you are facing additional federal charges), you may face anywhere from five years to life imprisonment. You may also be ordered to pay fines to the state – and to add insult to injury you may face a civil lawsuit from the victim for pain and suffering which can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Another criminal penalty for committing a sex crime is having to register in the sex offender database. This database shares the location and information of all sex offenders and is a matter of public record.
This will also dictate where you can live, as sex offenders cannot live within a close range to a school or playground (even if your sex crime did not involve children). Furthermore, you will be required to inform all of your neighbors of your status as a sex offender.
Personal and Professional Penalties
The personal penalties and criminal penalties are often seen as one-in-the-same. After all, your personal relationships with your neighbors are bound to suffer when you knock on their door and tell them that you’re a sex offender. They won’t care about the context of the charges, just that you were convicted.
But there is another personal penalty you’ll end up having to pay if you’re convicted: the relationships with your children and family. If you’re unable to be around a school, chances are you will miss out on a lot of your children’s activities. This can put an extra strain on your family life.
Further, you’ll face discrimination at work. You may be passed up for job opportunities because of your status as a convicted sex offender, no matter how established you are in your career. You might even be fired from your current job due to company policies prohibiting sex offenders in the workplace.
That’s why it’s crucial to find an experienced criminal defense attorney in Tampa.
Protect Your Rights
Being wrongfully accused of a sex crime doesn’t mean you will be convicted – but it does mean that you need the best defense available. Contact a tenacious felony defense attorney in Tampa with The Rickman Law Firm today. Don’t hesitate to call our team to discuss how to protect your rights.
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.