Sex Crimes Lawyer in Youngstown

Legal Counsel for Ohio Sex Crime Charges

Sex offenses are extremely serious in nature and have an impact on your reputation and career. So, you should resort to the Youngstown Ohio criminal lawyers if you are charged with a sex crime.

Ohio Sex Offenses Categories

There are 5 categories for felony and misdemeanor sexual offenses in Ohio, where the first-degree is the most serious nature and fifth the least serious one bearing less stringent penalties.

Sex Offenses & Misdemeanors and Their Penalties

1. Sexual Imposition

Sexual imposition is the forceful sexual contact with another, which in some cases, occurs from drug, alcohol, or mental impairment. According to the Ohio Revised Code, the first-degree misdemeanor involves the prohibition of sexual contact by a sex offender who has prior rape, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, sexual battery, or gross sexual imposition convictions in their record. The penalty for such offenses involves an imprisonment of a maximum period of 6 months or a fine amount up to $1,000. Whereas, the third-degree misdemeanor includes the prohibition of sexual contact:

• by an offender who is a mental health professional, a victim, or when he or she is the client or the mental health patient of the offender
• with people between 13-16 years of age and the offender is a minimum of 18 years and/or 4 years older than the victim
• when the offender is completely aware that the victim surrendered to him or her owing to his or her ignorance of the sexual contact
• when the offender is aware of the victim’s substantial impairment to resist, control, or agree to the sexual contact
• when the offender knows that the sexual contact is offensive to another

These misdemeanor sex offenses impose a jail time for a maximum of 60 days and a fine amount of up to $500.

2. Aggravated Sexual Assault or Rape

According to the Ohio Revised Code 2907.02, rape can be defined as when someone forcefully engages in sexual contact with another with the use of threat of actual force, and can include harsh penalties such as life imprisonment, prolonged jail time, and a permanent criminal record, or even registering as a sex offender throughout their life.

A person can be imposed with rape charges:

• When the victim’s judgment is controlled with substances including drugs or other intoxicating items by the use of deceit or force in order to prevent any resistance
• Victim is below 13 years old
• The offender believed or was aware of the victim’s impairment by a physical or mental condition to show any resistance

In Ohio, rape is a first-degree felony and hence, punishable up to 3-10 years of imprisonment or a fine amount up to $20,000. But if the victim is a minor, it imposes life imprisonment or imprisonment with no parole possibilities.

3. Sexual Battery

Sexual Battery is a second and third-degree felony and can be charged:

• When a victim below 13 years old
• When the victim’s controlling or resisting ability was substantially impaired
• When the victim has been forced to surrender
• When the victim was ignorant of the sexual contact
• When the victim mistook the alleged offender for their husband or wife
• The offender is the parent, step-parent, or the guardian
• The offender holds legal custody over the other person
• The offender assumes a supervisory or disciplinary authority over the victim
• The offender is a coach, administrator, or a teacher in a facility attended by the victim
• The offender is a mental health professional who manipulated the victim into the sexual contact by convincing him or her it was necessary for their treatment

A conviction for sexual battery with a victim who is under 13 years of age is a second-degree felony and can be punished by a 2-5 years of imprisonment with a fine amount up to $15,000. And for the cases where the victim is above 13, it imposes a jail time of 1-5 years and a fine amount of up to $10,000.

4. Illegal Sexual Activity with a Minor

This can be charged, under the Ohio Revised Code 2907.04, if a person is under 18 years old or more and has intentionally or unintentionally engaged in a sexual activity with a minor, aged between 13 and 16 years. It is considered to be a fourth, third, second, or even a first-degree felony, based on a few circumstances. For a fourth-degree felony, one can be imposed with a 6-18 months jail time and a fine not exceeding $5,000. It can be a first-degree felony when the alleged offender is 4 years older than the victim and incurs an imprisonment of up to 6 months in jail and/or a fine penalty of a maximum of $1,000. If the offender is 10 years older than the victim or even more, then the crime becomes a third-degree felony and incurs an imprisonment between 1 and 5 years and/or a fine amount of up to $10,000. If the offender has a past conviction of another sex crime, then it is upgraded to a second-degree felony and lead to an imprisonment for 6-8 years or a maximum fine amount of $15,000.

The Sex Offender Registry

In Ohio, the CCSD is responsible for all sex offenders’ registrations, thereby keeping a database in order to track the convicted sexual offenders, which will be forwarded later to the attorney general’s office in Ohio. Sometimes, the judge issues a rule that certain sex offenders will be subjected to community notification whereby the deputies must personally inform the neighbors, municipal law enforcement agencies, and schools about the location of the alleged offender in order to make them aware of the sexual offender’s unlawful conduct.

Get Immediate Help From the Youngstown Criminal Law Group

If you or someone you know has been imposed with sex crime charges, you must resort to the Youngstown Ohio criminal lawyers from us, at the Youngstown Criminal Law Group, and discuss the matter in details for the best legal representation.