Sexual Assault Allegations Criminal Defense

Cofer Law, P.C.300 Throckmorton StreetSuite 500Fort Worth, TX 76102

Hire a Skilled Sexual Assault Criminal Defense Lawyer

Very few criminal charges can have such a devastating impact on your future as a sexual assault allegation. Any individual may claim they were sexually assaulted without providing substantial evidence. Sadly, sexual assault charges are sometimes based on malicious accusations with a variety of motivations. Even the most improbable or impossible sexual assault accusations can cause the person accused to face severely damaging consequences. You cannot act quickly enough if you are accused of sexual assault. Getting a sexual assault criminal defense attorney on your side can minimize the damage these allegations can have on your life.

If you are facing sexual assault charges, it is vital that you hire an aggressive and skilled criminal law attorney who will work tirelessly to defend your legal rights and work to ensure you’re not punished for the unfounded sexual accusations. Contact Cody Cofer, Fort Worth Sexual Assault Criminal Defense Attorney, a former prosecutor and skilled trial lawyer. Call 817.810.9395 soon, because a lot of work can be done to avoid the filing of formal charges (indictment) of sexual assault. Do not wait until you are contacted by police. If you let the fight come to you it may severely impact your long term chances of success in sexual assault cases.

What Is Sexual Assault?

A person may be accused of committing sexual assault in many different ways. A person commits an offense of sexual assault if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of another person by any means, without that person’s consent. A person commits an offense of sexual assault if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the penetration of the mouth of another person by the sexual organ of the actor, without that person’s consent. Or person commits an offense of sexual assault if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the sexual organ of another person, without that person’s consent, to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor.

Additional sexual assault allegations include: A person commits an offense of sexual assault if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of a child by any means. A person commits an offense of sexual assault if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the penetration of the mouth of a child by the sexual organ of the actor. A person commits an offense of sexual assault if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the sexual organ of a child to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor. A person commits an offense of sexual assault if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the anus of a child to contact the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor. A person commits an offense of sexual assault if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the mouth of a child to contact the anus or sexual organ of another person, including the actor.

Consent in the Sexual Assault Context

• Sexual assault is without the consent of the other person if the person accused of sexual assault compels the other person to submit or participate by the use of physical force or violence.
• Sexual assault is without the consent of the other person if the person accused of sexual assault compels the other person to submit or participate by threatening to use force or violence against the other person, and the other person believes that the actor has the present ability to execute the threat.
• Sexual assault is without the consent if the person allegedly being sexually assaulted has not consented and the person committing the sexual assault knows the other person is unconscious or physically unable to resist.
• Sexual assault is without the consent of the other person if the person accused of sexual assault knows that as a result of mental disease or defect the other person is at the time of the sexual assault incapable either of appraising the nature of the act or of resisting it.
• Sexual assault is without the consent if the person allegedly being sexually assaulted has not consented and the actor knows the other person is unaware that the sexual assault is occurring.
• Sexual assault is without the consent of the other person if the person accused of sexual assault has intentionally impaired the other person’s power to appraise or control the other person’s conduct by administering any substance without the other person’s knowledge.
• Sexual assault is without the consent of the other person if the person accused of sexual assault compels the other person to submit or participate by threatening to use force or violence against any person, and the other person believes that the actor has the ability to execute the threat.
• Sexual assault is without the consent of the other person if the person accused of sexual assault is a public servant who coerces the other person to submit or participate.
• Sexual assault is without the consent of the other person if the person accused of sexual assault is a mental health services provider or a health care services provider who causes the other person, who is a patient or former patient of the actor, to submit or participate by exploiting the other person’s emotional dependency on the person accused of sexual assault.
• Sexual assault is without the consent of the other person if the person accused of sexual assault is a clergyman who causes the other person to submit or participate by exploiting the other person’s emotional dependency on the clergyman in the clergyman’s professional character as spiritual adviser.
• Sexual assault is without the consent of the other person if the person accused of sexual assault is an employee of a facility where the other person is a resident, unless the employee and resident are formally or informally married to each other under Chapter 2, Family Code.

Consequences of a Sexual Assault Conviction

An offense of sexual assault is a felony of the second degree, except that an offense of sexual assault is a felony of the first degree if the victim was a person whom the person accused of sexual assault was prohibited from marrying or purporting to marry or with whom the person accused of sexual assault was prohibited from living under the appearance of being married under Section 25.01.

Sec. 12.33. SECOND DEGREE FELONY PUNISHMENT. (a) An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for any term of not more than 20 years or less than 2 years.(b) In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.

Sec. 12.32. FIRST DEGREE FELONY PUNISHMENT. (a) An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the first degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 5 years.(b) In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the first degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.

A person accused of sexual assault may face severe damage to their personal, professional, and social life regardless of if they are actually convicted of the crime. Society’s attitude about sex crimes as well as the media hype usually surrounding these types of cases has contributed to the serious penalties and punishments a defendant may face. The consequences of a sexual assault conviction can include:

• Prison
• Lifetime Sex Offender Registration
• Substantial fines
• Probation/parole
• Loss of rights
• Court ordered rehab
• AIDS/STD testing
• More

How we can help?

If you have been accused of sexual assault, you need to act fast. Hiring a skilled and aggressive attorney is the best way to ensure your legal rights and interests are fully protected. Cody Cofer is an experienced Fort Worth Sexual Assault Attorney that can evaluate and research the circumstance surrounding your case, prepare and develop a strong defense, negotiate with prosecutors to reduce or dismiss your charges, and more. Don’t risk your liberty or your future. Please contact Cody Cofer to schedule a consultation in his downtown Fort Worth office.

Cofer Law, P.C.300 Throckmorton StreetSuite 500Fort Worth, TX 76102