Florida Child Molestation Lawyers

Defend Your Reputation with our Best Child Molestation Attorneys in Florida, FL

Child molestation is considered an extremely serious crime in the state of Florida. Severe penalties can include prison time and lifetime registrations in both the Florida state Sex Offender Registry and the National Sex Offender Registry. If you have child molestation charges brought against you, and you are convicted, you will likely lose your freedom, and your reputation. Even if you are not guilty or convicted, the claim alone will most likely ruin your reputation and your life.

If you don't have a Florida child molestation lawyer to defend you, you will most likely get the maximum sentence that can be afforded to you. With Musca Law, you benefit from more than 150 years of collective legal experience put to work on your behalf. We can capably guide clients through the circumstances they face and work to obtain the best possible outcome on their behalf.

Child Molestation Charges in Florida

Musca Law aggressively defense those who have been accused of child molestation charges. Our attorneys are here to help with your criminal charge and help you avoid jail time and ruining your reputation. Unfortunately, when the accused is found innocent, being charged with child molestation is devastating and carries negative social stigmas.

What Constitutes Child Molestation in Florida?

Florida's Criminal Statutes states that a person who intentionally touches the genital area, breasts, or buttocks, or the clothing covering up those areas, of a child who is less than 16 years of age, or entices or forces a child under 16 years of age to touch the perpetrator in these areas, commits an act of lewd or lascivious molestation.

According to Florida Statute § 800.04(5), child molestation involves indecent or sexual activities committed between an adult and a child under 16.

In Florida, criminal offenses involving alleged acts of child molestation can be criminally charged under multiple offenses, such as:

Lewd or lascivious battery

Lewd or lascivious conduct

Lewd or lascivious exhibition

Lewd or lascivious molestation

The Penalties of Child Molestation in Florida

It is imperative to understand that child molestation and sexual crimes involving a child under who is the age of 16 are "strict liability crimes." In strict liability criminal offenses, a defendant cannot argue that he or she did know the child's actual age or that the child consented to the sexual act.

Florida Criminal Statutes state that a person who deliberately touches in a lustful or lascivious way the breasts, genital area, buttocks, genitals, or the clothes that are covering up those areas, of a child less than 16 years of age, or entices or forces a child under 16 years of age to touch the perpetrator, perpetrates the crime of lewd or lascivious molestation.

The crime of lewd molestation of a minor child is a "life felony," second-degree Felony, or a third-degree felony. The degree of charge depends on the age of the minor child and the perpetrator's age:

• Life Felony: lewd molestation of a minor child under 12 by an adult over 18 years of age;
• Second-Degree Felony: lewd molestation of a minor child under 12 by a person under 18 or of a minor child between the ages of 12 and 16 by an adult over 18 years of age;
• Third-Degree Felony: lewd molestation of a minor child between 12 and 16 by an adult under 18 years of age.

If the defendant is convicted of committing Lewd and Lascivious Battery in the second degree, a judge is obligated to sentence the defendant to a minimum prison sentence of 34½ months and may also sentence the defendant to any combination of the following punishments: up to 15 years of sex offender probation, up to 15 years in prison, or up to $10,000 in fines.

Another particularly serious result of being convicted of lewd and lascivious battery is being labeled a sex offender for life.

Potential Penalties for Child Molestation Charges in Florida

Crimes involving the sexual abuse of minor children are typically charged as felony offenses. To determine the degree of the offense, law enforcement and prosecutors use the following guidelines. The victim's age and alleged offender's age will typically determine the severity of the penalties that could be handed down to the defendant:

• If the victim's age is 12 years of age or older but less than 16 years of age, and the offender under the age of 18, the crime is a third-degree felony, which is punishable by a minimum of 3 years in prison and a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
• If the victim's age is less than 12 years of age, and the offender's age is less than 18 years of age, the crime is a second-degree felony, which is punishable by a minimum prison sentence of 4 ¼ years and a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
• If the victim's age is 12 years of age or older but less than 16 years of age and the offender's age is 18 years or older, the crime is a second-degree felony, which is punished with a minimum prison sentence of 4 ¼ years, and a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
• If the victim's age is less than 12 years of age, and the offender's age is 18 years of age or older, the crime is a life felony, which is punishable by a minimum prison sentence of 25 years in prison plus probation or community control for the remainder of the person's natural life, and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Child Molestation Defenses in Florida

An experienced child molestation defense attorney will conclude whether the state's evidence against you could be dismissed or suppressed if your arrest involved:

• Forensic investigation errors,
• Miranda rights Violations,
• Right to counsel was denied, or
• The contact was incidental, or there was no lewd intent, and you did not deliberately touch the child for purposes of arousal or sexual gratification.

A strong defense employed in a child molestation case involves exposing false allegations. A few examples include:

• A social worker or child care worker asked guiding questions during an investigation, leading to a false allegation.
• You were falsely accused by someone who is trying to punish you.
• You were falsely accused by someone seeking to extort a monetary settlement from you.
• The alleged victim was pressured or coached or by law enforcement officials, healthcare professionals or prosecuting attorneys or to report molestation even though none transpired.
• An ex-spouse falsely accused you in the middle of a custody proceeding or contentious divorce.
• You were falsely accused by another person who misrepresented an innocent touch.

Possible Defenses to Child Molestation Charges in Florida

Consent by the victim, lack of chastity on the part of the victim, or the defendant's ignorance of the victim's age is not permittable defenses for child molestation cases. Tragically, some people are wrongly accused of this crime, and they have no choice but to defend themself to the fullest extent of their capabilities. Therefore, the most common defense strategy in child molestation cases is to attack the allegations. Most of the time, false allegations occur due to jealously, mental illness of the accuser, or the manipulation of a minor child through an angry parent. That is why it is critical for our Child Molestation Defense Lawyers to thoroughly investigate all motives that exist from the accuser or those influencing the accuser into making a false allegation of child molestation.

Prohibited Defenses to Child Molestation Charges in Florida

Florida Statutes § 800.04(2) and § 800.04(3) state the following criminal defenses are prohibited in lewd or lascivious molestation cases:

• The alleged victim gave consent. A defendant may not claim that actions were justified simply because the minor child gave the perpetrator permission.
• The belief or ignorance of the alleged victim's age. Neither your ignorance nor your belief in the alleged victim's misrepresentation of their age can be used as a defense.
• The alleged victim's absence of chastity. A victim's past sexual experience cannot be raised, even if the alleged victim is a sex worker.

Penalties for a Conviction of Child Molestation

If convicted of child molestation in the state of Florida, a person can expect to spend a long time in prison, from a minimum of 25 years up to a maximum life sentence. The Florida child molestation laws are in place to protect children ages 16 and under from being exploited by adults who prey on children for their own deviant sexual needs and wants. Even once those convicted are released from prison, they continue to face extreme and lasting consequences.

If you have been charged with child molestation in the state of Florida, you should immediately contact a child molestation defense lawyer. Failure to do so could have drastic effects on your life.

Fight Your Charges with a Florida Child Molestation Lawyer from Musca Law!

When you contact a Florida child molestation attorney from Musca Law, you are getting a skilled professional who has the experience and the know-how to help you through your circumstances. They will know what to do in order to give you your best possible chance at reduced or dismissed charges.

If you don't have a Florida child molestation lawyer to defend you, you will most likely get the maximum sentence that can be afforded to you. With Musca Law, you benefit from more than 150 years of collective legal experience put to work on your behalf. We can capably guide clients through the circumstances they face and work to obtain the best possible outcome on their behalf.

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