Philadelphia Aggravated Indecent Assault Lawyers
A charge like aggravated indecent assault is extremely serious. Not do you face felony charges and harsh penalties like spending years in prison, but you risk losing your job, your relationships, and your reputation in the community.
As with any sex-related offense, family, friends, and co-workers may judge you harshly—even if they are unaware of all the facts.
If you’ve been charged with aggravated indecent assault in Pennsylvania, it is important to understand those charges and the seriousness of the penalties you face. An experienced Pennsylvania sex crimes offense attorney can help you through this difficult time. In the criminal justice system, you are innocent until proven guilty. While it may not always feel true, with the right lawyer on your side, you can face the charges against you with hope.
At Ciccarelli Law Offices, our experienced Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyers can work aggressively from the start to protect your future and ensure that you get a fair trial. We will do everything we can to expose the holes in the prosecution’s case against you.
What is Aggravated Indecent Assault?
Aggravated indecent assault is the “penetration of a person’s genitals or anus with any part of a person’s body” (penetration as a part of a police procedure or for “hygienic or medical” reasons is excluded). To prove you are guilty of the charges, the prosecutor must show the penetration occurred under one of the following circumstances:
- You used force or threatened to use force
- The victim did not consent to the penetration
- Drugs or other substances that rendered the victim incapable of resisting were administered
- The victim was unconscious, therefore, unaware of the act of penetration
- The age of the victim is thirteen or younger
- The victim’s age is sixteen or younger, the defendant is at least four years older than the victim, and the two are not married.
- There was no mental capacity on the part of the victim to consent.
Aggravated indecent assault differs from indecent assault in that while there is physical and sexual contact without the person’s consent in both crimes, penetration must have occurred for aggravated indecent assault charges.
How Can Charges of Aggravated Indecent Assault Affect Your Life?
It can be an anxiety-inducing, frightening experience to face charges for aggravated indecent assault—or any other sex crime. There are devastating consequences that come with a conviction for any sex crime, including aggravated indecent assault. Having a strong legal advocate in your corner can help allay your fears, protect your future, and ensure your rights have not been violated.
Charges of aggravated indecent assault can affect your job and your relationships with family, co-workers, neighbors, and other community members. There may be extenuating circumstances surrounding the charges. If so, your Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney will present those facts as a part of your defense.
You may have been incorrectly identified. If others can show you were with them at the time of the assault, your attorney will also ensure those witness statements become a part of your defense. If convicted of aggravated indecent assault, you could spend many years in prison.
After you’ve served your sentence, you could be required to register as a sex offender, potentially for the remainder of your life. This can affect where you live and whether you can secure employment. A felony conviction can also prevent you from obtaining or retaining a professional license and can even prevent you from obtaining a government student loan or renting a home.
What Are the Penalties for Aggravated Indecent Assault?
If you are charged with aggravated indecent assault when the victim is over the age of 13, you are facing a second-degree felony. The sentence for a second-degree felony is from 5-10 years in prison and a fine as large as $25,000. When aggravated indecent assault involves a victim under 13, it is charged as a first-degree felony, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in state prison and a fine as large as $25,000. Prior offenses could increase the charges and subject you to Pennsylvania’s Three Strikes Law.
Must You Register as a Sex Offender if Convicted of Aggravated Indecent Assault?
When you are required to register as a sex offender, you must appear in person according to your “Tier” level or classification. Tier 1 offenders are the least serious and must appear in person once a year for 15 years. Tier II offenders must appear every six months for a period of 25 years, and Tier III offenders must appear four times a year (every quarter) for life. In addition to this periodic reporting, an offender must appear in person within three business days when there has been a change in name, a change in residence, a change in employment, or a change in student status.
The offender must also appear in person when his or her telephone number, email address, or motor vehicle ownership changes. Changes in or termination of information related to occupational and professional licensure must also be reported.
Aggravated indecent assault is considered a Tier II offense, requiring registering as a sex offender for 25 years. A sex-related felony on your record can affect current and future child custody issues.
Defenses to the Crime of Aggravated Indecent Assault
An experienced Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney will immediately begin investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding your case to determine whether the accusations are supported by evidence. Working with a knowledgeable criminal defense attorney makes it much more likely to have your charges reduced or dismissed altogether.
A highly skilled sexual assault attorney will have the necessary resources to ensure your charges are exhaustively investigated and that experts who understand and can explain the forensic evidence are available. Some of the more common defenses that could be applied in your case include:
- Consent—There was no assault because the other person consented to the sex act.
- Actual innocence—You were misidentified by the victim or by a witness when you were somewhere else at the time of the incident. You may have an alibi that proves you were somewhere else, or you could simply be the victim of mistaken identity.
- The evidence was improperly processed.
- You were not afforded your constitutional rights. You may not have been properly Mirandized, or you were denied an attorney after you asked for one. Certain other rights may also have been violated.
Aggravated Indecent Assault Statutes
§ 3125. Aggravated indecent assault.
(a) Offenses defined.–Except as provided in sections 3121 (relating to rape), 3122.1 (relating to statutory sexual assault), 3123 (relating to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse) and 3124.1 (relating to sexual assault), a person who engages in penetration, however slight, of the genitals or anus of a complainant with a part of the person’s body for any purpose other than good faith medical, hygienic or law enforcement procedures commits aggravated indecent assault if:
(1) the person does so without the complainant’s consent;
(2) the person does so by forcible compulsion;
(3) the person does so by threat of forcible compulsion that would prevent resistance by a person of reasonable resolution;
(4) the complainant is unconscious or the person knows that the complainant is unaware that the penetration is occurring;
(5) the person has substantially impaired the complainant’s power to appraise or control his or her conduct by administering or employing, without the knowledge of the complainant, drugs, intoxicants or other means for the purpose of preventing resistance;
(6) the complainant suffers from a mental disability which renders him or her incapable of consent;
(7) the complainant is less than 13 years of age; or
(8) the complainant is less than 16 years of age and the person is four or more years older than the complainant and the complainant and the person are not married to each other.
(b) Aggravated indecent assault of a child.–A person commits aggravated indecent assault of a child when the person violates subsection (a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) and the complainant is less than 13 years of age.
(c) Grading and sentences.–
(1) An offense under subsection (a) is a felony of the second degree.
(2) An offense under subsection (b) is a felony of the first degree.
Helping People in Philadelphia
Our team of Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers is working on your Aggravated Indecent Assault case so that you have the benefit of several attorneys, including Lee and using their combined efforts and experience to get you the justice you and your family need. Get Justice.
Our Philadelphia Center City location is: Two Penn Center Plaza, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA , and we make ourselves available to meet with you locally throughout Pennsylvania. Our business and mailing address is 135 East State Street, Kennett Square, PA 19348 in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
When you have been accused of Aggravated Indecent Assault in Pennsylvania, you need justice; and you need a top criminal defense lawyer with years of experience winning the tough cases: contact the Justice for the Accused Criminal defense team today. Contact us 24/7 at (215) 515-6111.