When charged with a Minnesota sex crime, it’s time for help from the best sex crime lawyer. And Sex Crime Lawyer Thomas Gallagher is here to help you.

Experience is a must. Thomas Gallagher represents clients accused of criminal sexual conduct, sexual assault, rape, as well as underage and other sex crimes.

And he’s been successfully doing so since 1988, in Minnesota state and federal court.

These are serious cases, with serious consequences. So they call for some serious legal power. Call Attorney Thomas Gallagher now to begin solving the problem.

Starting Now

This page will cover some basic issues related to these cases, with links to more in-depth pages.

First is the problem of the innocent person facing a false accusation. Next is the problem of those who are guilty and what the best solution is for them.

After that, we’ll explore the categories of these crimes and types of criminal charges and defenses within these categories.

In addition, we’ll look at some defense issues and potential consequences of conviction. And we’ll consider what to look for in the best sex crime attorney.

Wrongly Accused & the Sex Crime Lawyer

False allegations of sex crimes against innocent people is a serious problem. It’s been a horrific problem since the dawn of history. And it remains a problem to this day.

A person may wrongly accuse another for many reasons. If you’re innocent, you know that you are. But can you know why another person makes a false accusation?

You may not understand why someone is accusing you of something you did not do. You may speculate about it. But you may never really know.

So how then can you prove your innocence in court? Fortunately, you don’t need to. The law puts the burden of proving guilt, upon the prosecutor.

The best sex crime attorney won’t allow the prosecutor to shift the burden of proof. So we can’t let them ask you to prove why the accuser is wrong. Who can prove a negative? And if they can’t come up with real evidence of guilt, there’s a reason for that. That reason? You’re not-guilty!

Experienced Sex Crime Lawyers can help analyze the facts to understand the why. And we can find the tells that show the lie.

Revenge: motive for a false accusation of a sex crime — Revenge: false accusation motive

The Guilty

Sex crimes defendants run the continuum from the most culpable to the least. But if the court adjudicates someone guilty, the court will need to determine a just sentence. After a guilty plea or a jury trial verdict, the court will schedule a sentencing hearing.

The sentence should be fair for the offender, any identifiable victims, and for the community.

In some cases the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines call for a presumptive sentence of prison commitment. But, it is important to know about recidivism rates. And people who enter and successfully complete tough sex offender treatment programs, re-offend less often, than those who go to prison.

Getting a Minnesota sex offender treatment program to accept a defendant can be the key. It can convince the court that probation is a better alternative. A good sex crime lawyer can help guide his client into a treatment program; and probation instead of prison.

Categories of Sex Crimes

There are three types of Minnesota sex crimes, with examples:

Penetration. Criminal Sexual Conduct First & Third Degrees.
Touch. Criminal Sexual Conduct Second & Fourth Degrees.
Non-touch. Indecent Exposure, Child Porn, Revenge Porn.

“He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression.”
Thomas Paine

Defense Issues

With the frequency of false accusations; you should retain the best sex crime lawyer for help during the police investigation, before the filing of any charges.

Pre-charge counsel can help you reduce the likelihood of a prosecutor ever filing charges with the court, or mitigate the damage should they be filed.

Police want to talk to the target of the accusation. But you should not talk to police at all, without first consulting a lawyer experienced in sex crimes defense. Moreover, you should avoid doing many things. A few things can help the situation. And you should thoroughly review these with your paid legal counsel.

You should hire a lawyer early. And the best sex crime attorney should be retained immediately after charges are filed, if not sooner.

Defenses

Consent
Age
Relationship
Exculpatory evidence
Computer-based evidence
Search and Seizure issues
Evidentiary issues, chain of custody, admissibility

Consequences of Conviction

Most, though not all, Minnesota sex crimes are felonies.

And we discuss the consequences of felonies, gross misdemeanors and misdemeanors on other pages of this website; as well as so-called collateral consequences.

Predatory Offender Registration

Predatory offender registration (fka “sex offender registration”) is one “collateral consequence” of most sex crime charges. And some non-sex crime convictions will trigger it too.

Overly broad: If a Complaint charges a crime on the predatory offender registration statute’s list, and the person is not convicted of that charge; but is later convicted of “another offense arising out of the same set of circumstances;” then the statute still requires them to register as a predatory offender. Minnesota Statutes §243.166, subd. 1b.

Consider an example: Someone falsely accuses you of a sex crime requiring registration if convicted. And then the court dismisses that charge; but convicts of you of another offense that would not trigger registration, like “misdemeanor assault — cause fear.” You frightened someone, but did nothing sexual, nothing predatory. So, do you have to register under the statute? Yes.

Even if a jury finds you not-guilty of a sex crime, but furnishing liquor to a minor? According to Minnesota courts, yes! This offends the sense of justice of most people.

Clearly, this law is unjust and unfair. But so far the courts have upheld it as constitutional. (The legislature could change it.)

In order to avoid registration, you’ll need the best sex crime attorney.

Sex Crime Charge Defense