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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    3

    Default Sexual Assault of a Child

    What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TEXAS

    Ok first off i just want to say thank you to anyone that will take this thread serious and help me with this decision i need to make which is ultimately the biggest one i will make of my life.

    ok here it is. i was charged with sexual assault of a child last year for having sex with my girlfriend who was 16. i was 19 at the time but was passed the 36 month rule allowed by the state of texas. heres how it all happened. i was going through problems with my ex girlfriend at the time i was with my new girlfriend. one saturday night i was in the bedroom of my house which is not surrounded by any fence and did not have any no trespassing signs. basically a simple house in a neighborhood. i was in the middle of the intercourse when i hear a knock on the window of my bedroom. it was the city police. the officer said at the window for me to open up the door.from what the statements say my ex girl got a call from a friend who told her that i was with my gf. she then got a ride from her friend and went to my backyard to see what i was doing. she peeked into the small hole of my closed blinds and saw the act in progress. she then ran to the street called 911. the cops show up and she takes them to the back yard of my house and they to peek through my blind to see what i was doing. when the cop knocked on the glass i panicked i didnt know it was a cop..i hit the lights because of course i was naked and so was my gf. i opened up the door and said whats the problem. he said "we need you to step outside we have just witnessed a felony being committed" they said they had the right to just run in but i said get a dam warrant first and slammed the door shut. i didnt know what to do at this time. so i told my gf just to go outside with me. after 5 minutes of freaking out in my house i walked outside and so did my gf. i was then placed under arrest. the cops got a search warrant and went inside and found the condom and sent my gf to get a rape kit done which identified her on the condom as well as me and saliva on her breast.

    i finally got to this position in court where i was offered a plea deal of 7 years deferred probation plus lifetime registry as a sex offender. i go back june 8th to finalize it.

    this is hard for me. my lawyer will only give me options he wont tell me what decision to make.

    so would it be in my best interest to take the deal?
    i still havent gone through the suppression phase. ive read alot about privacy and the 4th amendment and the texas exclusionary rule. do you think the search was unconstitutional and do you think i should try to fight that?

    any advice you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated,
    need anymore info just let me know so i can provide it.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
    35,894

    Default Re: Serious Advice Please Read

    Why do you think an internet message board can offer anything more than your attorney?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Serious Advice Please Read

    ummmm..because he is court appointed. and maybe some people here actually would take the time out and give advice on the issue. thats all. im not taking the info i gather here as the answer just simple advice.

    thanks

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
    35,894

    Default Re: Serious Advice Please Read

    You missed the point

    He's your attorney. He knows the details of your case. We're volunteers here and we don't have even an eighth of the information that we'd need, y'know?

    With that said, you were caught with your pants down - literally. That's going to be very hard to defend; you may wish to listen to your attorney because the alternative may be much harsher.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Serious Advice Please Read

    Being court appointed does not mean that he is not the best qualified person to give you advice. He is still bound to do the best possible job for you he can. There is no possible way strangers on an anonymous internet board who don't know a fraction of the details that he does, can give you better advice than he can.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Sexual Assault of a Child

    Its cool i found great advice over at freeadvice.com the kind people actually took time to read my post and give me
    feedback on it. But in all thanks

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    9,096

    Default Re: Sexual Assault of a Child

    Yes.

    The same people volunteer on both.

    Raping a child is still a crime even if.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Sexual Assault of a Child

    First off, you've been offered a plea bargain that will allow you to avoid a criminal conviction if you successfully complete your deferred probation, and will likely allow you to later petition to be removed from the sex offender registry (although I haven't looked up that statute, and you should discuss that issue with your lawyer). If there's a pending motion to suppress, odds are the prosecutor has made this plea offer contingent upon your waiving the issue - that is, if you want to forge ahead as if you're going to trial, odds are the prosecutor will withdraw the plea offer and you'll be looking at potential prison time. (That's another issue you need to clarify with your lawyer.)

    My impression from cases like Phillips v State, 161 SW 3d 511 (2005) is that, in relation to private action, the Texas exclusionary rule only applies in the context of criminal trespass. You seem to be aware of that, as you're arguing in your other thread that there had once been "no trespassing" signs around the property as recently as a week before the incident, although you admit that they were gone afterward (and have no evidence that they were present at the time of your ex-girlfriend's entry). You are also contending that your "roommate who is the lease holder of the house had already verbally warned my ex to stay off the property". As your lawyer has no doubt already told you, if there are no signs there are no signs; and having your roomie testify that whatever warning he gave was sufficient to constitute "oral or written communication by the owner or someone with apparent authority to act for the owner" could be troublesome, starting with whether the statement was made, what exactly was said, whether anybody believes your roommate's story and, even assuming that the notice was given and is otherwise sufficient, what your ex-girlfriend might say to indicate that you, your roommate or some other person had restored her right to visit.

    Even if you prevail in a motion it's not necessarily over. The prosecutor can appeal and yours is also the type of case that might inspire an appellate court to clarify the rule in a manner not beneficial to you - the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is much better known for finding ways to limit a defendant's rights than it is for vindicating them.

    The posts you've previously received are correct - your lawyer is the best person to speak to your actual question of whether or not you should take a plea offer, and nobody here has better information about your case or circumstances than your lawyer. Your lawyer is also correct that it's your choice to make - whether to grab the offer or press forward to see if you can win a motion to suppress but risk a criminal conviction and potential jail or prison term.

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