In almost all cases where a sex crime is alleged, the defendant is found guilty before going to trial. With Galveston sex crimes lawyer Tad Nelson on your side, you’ll be able to minimize the social damage that a sex crime accusation can have on your life, your family, and your professional existence.
If you’ve been accused of any of the sex crimes listed below, the Law Offices of Tad Nelson and Associates will meet with you to review potential defense strategies.
- Possession of Child Pornography
- Sexual Assault, Sexual Assault of A Child
- Date Rape, Statutory Rape
- Prostitution, Solicitation of a Minor
- Indecency with a Child, Continuous Sexual Assault of a Child
- Internet Sex Crimes, Online Solicitation of a Minor
- Aggravated Sex Crimes of Any Kind.
Sex Crimes, and Texas
Of all the states and territories of the United States of America, the State of Texas holds an unchallenged reputation as a national leader when it comes to the severity, and harshness, of prosecution against a person alleged to have committed a sex crime.
If found guilty in the court of law a defendant can face years, if not a life sentence, in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice controlled prison facility. In addition to a stiff prison sentencing, the accused party will be forced, by law, to register as a sex offender for the rest of their lives.
Immediate Legal Representation is Paramount
Simply having to deal with accusations of a crime sexual in nature can destroy your reputation, respect from one’s family, professional standings, moral stature in the community, and result and in an irreconcilable tarnishing of one’s name.
And this is all before trial, and in many cases, prior to the official filing of criminal charges.
These detriments of being the target of sex crime allegations are multiplied tenfold when the media gets involved, turns what are normally unfounded sexual crime allegations into a high profile case, and splatters your name in the press.
This is why Galveston criminal defense lawyer Tad Nelson highly recommends conversing with experience legal counsel if you feel you will be the subject of an investigation by law enforcement based on your alleged involvement in a sex crime.
Furthermore, if you have been formally accused, or have recently bonded out of jail due to being arrested by Galveston area law enforcement in connection with a sex crime, it’s in your best interests to make haste in your efforts to acquire the best suitable legal representation possible for your case.
Attorney Tad Nelson is here to help. With legal representation by your side during difficult situations like this, you’ll be easily shielded from being found guilty in a court of public opinion prior to your appearance in the court of law.
Galveston criminal law attorney Tad Nelson is a former prosecutor who worked as an assistant district attorney in the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office. With experience as a Galveston County DA under his belt, Tad has a unique insight into the trial preparation, evidence handling procedures, case formulation strategies, argument calculation, and general prosecution techniques of the attorneys who will be prosecuting sex crimes in the court of law.
In some cases, Tad may be able to get the prosecutor to drop the charges due to a lack of evidence.
Sexual Assault of a Child
If you’ve been accused of sexual assault of a child, Galveston sex crimes lawyer Tad Nelson will fight to clear your good name in the court of law. Sexual assault of a child is a Second-Degree Felony in the state of Texas.
The potential prison sentence for anyone found guilty in a court of law for sexual assault of a child ranges from 2 to 20 years.
Even if you haven’t been formally charged or arrested for sexual assault of a child, but believe that you may be accused of sexual assault of a child, then it’s important that you talk with the Galveston sex crimes attorney, who has experience dealing with these types of situations, as soon as you possibly can, and preferably, before a formal accusation is made.
At the Law Offices of Tad Nelson & Associates in Galveston, we have a better chance of successfully fighting the case the earlier were involved. By involving the Law Offices of Tad Nelson & Associates during the early stages, our chances of having the charges dismissed increase significantly.
In cases where there is a young adult in a relationship with a minor, there are some defenses available to our law firm that may result in full dismissal of criminal charges against you, or a not guilty verdict in the event the case makes it to trial in a Galveston County criminal Court of law.
The Law
The law is clear; any sexual activity with a person under the age of 17 is a felony offense regardless of consent. The law is gender-neutral and is not contingent on penetration.
Penal Code, Title V: Offenses Against The Person: Chapter 21: Sexual Offenses
A person can be convicted of child sexual assault in the State of Texas if they are found guilty of causing the penetration of the anus or other sexual organ of a child by any means, causing oral penetration of a child’s mouth by the organ of the defendant, causes the sexual body parts of a child to interact with the sexual organs of another person including the defendant, causes the child to endure oral sex by another person and or the defendant, causes a child to perform oral sex on another person and/or the defendant.
Continuous Sexual Assault of a Child
When child sexual assault occurs on an ongoing basis of more than 30 days the defendant can be charged the criminal offense of continuous sexual assault of a child. Penalties for such a criminal offense start with a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years.
For purposes of clarity, a clear definition of a continuous sexual abuse of a child charge can be a minimum of two sexual acts against a child under the age of 14 within the span of 30 days.
In the event that the prosecution can show that the defendant is a habitual offender there is a real potential for a “life without parole” prison sentence. For person accused of a felony offense of this magnitude, parole, probation, nor deferred adjudication, should be considered a possibility as a disposition for the case.
If the person being accused has any previous convictions for criminal offenses related to sex on the background, the guilty verdict carries an automatic life sentence.
Qualifying sexual acts are as follows:
- indecency with a child(excludes breast contact),
- rape/sexual assault,
- aggravated sexual assault,
- aggravated kidnapping with the intent of sexual assault,
- burglary of a habitation with intent to commit sexual assault,
- forcing a sexual performance by a child,
- forcing a child to engage in sex acts,
- oral sex, anal sex, and any genital contact.
If you are accused of continuous sexual abuse of a child you will need an attorney who has the skill and experience to put a not guilty verdict on the horizon of potentials. This is even if you are guilty. If you’re innocent, and you’re ready to fight to prove it, you’ll need an even better lawyer. Whichever situation best applies to you, the Law Offices of Tad Nelson and Associates in Galveston, TX is qualified to represent you and fight for your best interests.
When you’re facing the possibility of a 25 year prison sentence minimum, the potential for mandatory minimum life sentence, or a lifetime legal obligation to register as a sex offender in the event that you are convicted of a lesser charge, attorneys Tad Nelson and Amber Spurlock are among the best attorneys in Galveston when it comes to litigating cases in which forensic scientific evidence will make the difference in the determination of the guilt or innocence of the defendant.
Possession of Child Pornography
A person who is accused of the possession of child pornography a person found to be in possession of images, video, or written content which describes child sexual exploitation activities.
The media depicting or illustrating any sexual exploits of a child serves as evidence of the abuse of that child. We’ve seen all kinds of cases. We’ve seen cases in which parents have been drug through the criminal justice system and treated as sexual offenders for nothing more than taking part in the age old tradition of snapping in the nude photos of their young toddler or infant.
By the same token, we’ve been hired by people accused of sex crimes who were 100% innocent, as well as by defendants who intend to plead guilty as charged, but are seeking legal representation as a form of damage control.
This is a serious situation to deal with. The Law Offices of Tad Nelson and Associates are here to help if you’re facing the stigma of accusations related to the criminal act of possession of child pornography and need competent legal representation.
Possession of Child Pornography Defined
The United States Department of Justice defines child pornography as any depiction of a minor in a sexually compromising situation. Any form of media which has a depiction that sexually exploits a minor can be defined as Possession Of Child Pornography, a felonious criminal offense.
These images (written material included) are considered evidence of the sexual assault/abuse of a child, and is treated as such by prosecutors seeking convictions of defendants. State and federal law criminalizes the production, distribution, possession, and of course, the production of any form of media that fits the aforementioned definition of Child Pornography.
The Prosecutorial Environment
If you, or someone close to you, are formally charged with possession of child pornography in Galveston, Texas, you can expect the DA’s office to spare no effort in their pursuit of prosecuting you to the fullest extent of the law.
As a former prosecuting attorney for the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office I can tell you first hand that prosecutors pride themselves on how many hundreds of thousands of incarceration years they can rack up over the course of their career.
With this kind of mindset by so many of the criminal prosecutors in the state of Texas, including Galveston, it’s easy to see why almost every other week we hear of a person who has served many of the finite years of their life in prison, only to be released after their exoneration.
This is another reason that attorney tad Nelson is hard at work on earning his masters degree in forensic science. He knows the importance of understanding biological evidence, up to, and including, DNA, fingerprints, and other trace evidence.
Federal Criminal Cases
Anytime a sex crime is committed, and a child is involved, there is a possibility the United States Attorney’s Office will get involved making it a federal criminal defense matter. When the federal government gets involved with the prosecution of a child pornography case the defendant can expect stiff criminal penalties of up to 20 years in the penitentiary for each defense if found guilty in the court of law.
With the stakes so high, and the penalty for error a near terminal detriment, hiring the right lawyer to defend you in the court of law against allegations of your possession of child pornography is paramount. Attorneys Tad Nelson and Amber Spurlock will invest the time it takes to become keenly aware of your situation, scrutinize the evidence being used against you with a scientific eye, and will provide an aggressive defense based on substance.
Contact Attorneys Tad Nelson & Amber Spurlock
Attorneys Tad Nelson and Amber Spurlock are certified scientist with credentials from the American Chemical Society. In fact, Galveston lawyer Tad Nelson is continuing to progress through the many stages of earning his Master Degree in Forensic Science.
When we say we are among the best criminal defense lawyers in Galveston for sex crime cases, it’s based on capability, experience, education, and most importantly of all; The Science.
The Law Offices of Tad Nelson & Associates are here for you.
