A person suspecting an accusation of physical or sexual child abuse or "contact" (the same thing), should get fully informed immediately, and consider getting experienced knowledgeable experts (a lawyer) on their side immediately. This is not legal advice. Seek competent legal advice and consider an expert defense expert or defense investigator of such cases to help understand the scope of the situation and perhaps offer methods to help defend. .

To acquire legal advice, we would educate ourself, ask a defense expert or investigator specializing in such defenses, and use checklists to acquire and manage a good lawyer. Studying case dockets of lawyers reveals which lawyer files the most motions and who wins (not very many) This is time-consuming. Someone who has handled a publicized case and won is often a good (expensive) bet. An expert who helps select a lawyer and manage the lawyer can NOT give legal advice and can not urge their client to ignore the lawyer's advice. They can only state what they have seen and know in other cases.

As already mentioned, real or even false allegations can result in many severe impacts upon everyone involved and even those not involved. Repeating from the previous page:

Realize this is often a very serious, life-changing matter that may result in someone serving many years in prison, ruined marriages, destroyed families and relationships, high legal and financial costs, inability to find employment, years or lifetime of registration as a sexual offender who may be targeted by anyone. There are severe emotional costs and worry involved. It can be perilous to ignore accusations or procrastinate in preparing a defense.

Anything you do or say should be taken very seriously and only after consultation with experts and likely a lawyer and after much self-education. Understand that some people are required to report abuse or seek assistance for a suspected victim by law. It may not be anything personal against you, but perhaps a misguided perception of events. The resources of the prosecution can be formidable.

This article is not intended for actual abuse victims who require professional assistance and counseling. Many web sites and support organizations exist for victims of abuse.

An accuser should have at least the word of a person with first hand or near first hand knowledge as well as some evidence, such as major behavioral change, inappropriate behaviors, and hopefully other evidence. If there is someone who claims to have directly observed you, then you may have even more serious problems. The truthfulness of a person can be tested by a polygraph lie detector and by other evidence of the person's unreliability. That is likely the lawyer's decision.

Whether guilty, innocent or "possibly", you should educate yourself and seek expert legal advice if accused.

A child abuse allegation can also greatly affect the life of the victim, especially if there is no evidence and the possibility that the victim may not want to testify or may fail a polygraph exam. A competent investigative company can help educate you and provide checklists regarding what to expect. If you think you may be guilty or anything you did could remotely be related to actual abuse, you may have very serious problems and should seek experts immediately. Any accused willing to submit to polygraph lie-detector or mental or other exam should cautiously talk to a lawyer or expert first, mainly asking questions.

We would ONLY be careful and brief and mostly ask questions when discussing such matters, if accused. These are legal matters and a lawyer should be consulted if it even remotely appears possible that this matter might become a formal charge or civil case.

There is a hazard of possibly misunderstanding the law, which is LIKELY. A good lawyer will take time to answer a lot of good questions. A good lawyer listens well, asks questions and rapidly evaluates the entire situation. If evidence is strong and overwhelming or witnesses credible (walked in and saw you or recorded you, etc.), then a good lawyer can begin a plan to "mitigate" the situation some. Just be aware there are some prosecutors (D.A) (usually new Republican) who will go for maximum penalties to prove they are "tough on crime". A good lawyer in the county of jurisdiction knows who is who and what to expect.

Criminal cases can arise from civil cases, and vice versa. There can be so many costs, financial , emotional and otherwise that you must not take these matters lightly or make any false statements .

Even guilty defendants deserve a good defense and good strategy, because there may be mitigating factors or other lawful measures which may reduce punishment or sentence. The prosecution has massive resources and may even generate false testimony or false affidavits with misleading statements. It is usually unwise to reveal your strategy to the opposition unless you are fully prepared, perhaps with investigation by your private investigator after consulting with an attorney.

Be aware that some authorities may over-react to weak evidence or inadvertent mentioning of possibilities, where other authorities may fail to follow up entirely to strong accusations. You may want to know more about the opposition or law enforcement personnel involved. A professional investigative firm can assist in these matters. Sometimes investigating the police detective or officers may be difficult.

Abuse may be physical, emotional, sexual, or combinations of these. It unwise and maybe illegal to resort to threats or manipulation, which could become a charge of intimidating a witness.

Emotional abuse may be extremely difficult to prove, and criminal charges are unlikely for such forms of abuse unless there is strong evidence of severely damaging actions. However, you should seek legal advice on such matter, as we can not offer legal advice.

Prosecutors may be reluctant to bring charges or seek an indictment, or may even drop charges in many situations where a witness is weak or does not want to press charges. You need expert advice and checklists to understand these situations.

Victims, witnesses and accusers may not know the severe punishments and dangers to a person convicted of these kinds of crimes. We are not recommending or advising ANY course of action, but some might consider expressing extreme regret, sympathy and making ironclad promises to NEVER do anything like that again, and promising to seek some kind of help, if self-help. Promising to lay it all out to a counselor of course might result in suspicions or admissions being reported, as required by law. But to seek help in being more self-disciplined, to find healthy alternatives and lifestyles, and avoid tempting situations ENTIRELY .. might be a good idea regardless of what happened. We could all improve, avoid temptation and be more empathetic, which is the goal of courts in dealing with such offenses. Sometimes such an approach can be suggested by the lawyer to the prosecutor if the offense was very minor, only ONCE with no prior offenses, with mitigating circumstances and a weak witness or evidence. That kind of deal can sometimes result in no charges, or at least a deal of deferred adjudication, or ideally deferred prosecution (almost no one gets that).

Criminal charges mostly likely require the sworn statement of the accuser and others. Most persons accused or being know to say nothing to the police, as a lawyer usually advises. Once arrested, lawyers usually advise to politely say nothing and ask for a lawyer. Once the "5th Amendment" privilege is claimed, ANY backtracking or talking is admissible and destroys the "privilege". Investigators use every trick including promises to "go easier on you if you cooperate". A person with some law knowledge might only speak as their lawyer, exactly like a lawyer, announcing such pro se lawyer role repeatedly, such as "my client has nothing to say at this time".

Once sworn in, or in a sworn statement or affidavit, an accused may be subject to criminal prosecution and jail time of years for perjury for any untruths. Before a person testifies or makes any statement, it is usually advisable to have carefully selected a lawyer and know how to handle a lawyer, which most people do not. One misspoken statement can easily be interpreted later as not exactly what you meant to say.

This is not legal advice. Seek competent legal advice and follow their instructions or ask questions. Typically they will advise a client to not discuss a case with anyone except them or approved agents or staff thereof. However, professional investigative and polygraph firms are sometimes an integral part of a defense and a good lawyer may encourage that. When ordered by or through the lawyer, confidential attorney client privilege is often upheld, as was in the O.J. Simpson case. We would not second-guess a good attentive lawyer.

When a spouse suspects, even if not sure, this might be the time to talk to a defense lawyer, especially about what to say and NOT say. Lawyers often find very little that should be said. As they say, ANYTHING you say can and will be used against you, usually. A lawyer certainly cautions to never say anything threatening, even remotely. A really good lawyer can be worth the money. Understand that this area of law is EXPENSIVE, running several thousand to get started, $10,000 to $90,000 for a plea agreement and about $120,000 to $600,000 for a trial lasting about 5 to 9 days, typically around $220,000. And THAT is sure no guarantee of winning, more likely losing unless NO evidence. Remember, prosecutors don't usually bring cases they don't think they can win, one way or the other. When/if there is an indictment by a grand jury, there is SOME evidence that convinced one jury.

If the "possibly guilty" accused can't afford the approximate $6000-$8000 to "get started" with a "pretty good" lawyer (the better ones start at $20,000 for a few hours and a little research), then they are in very serious trouble. Most "court appointed" public defenders are sell outs who assist the prosecution and seek a confession by pressure within the first hour of meeting. At this point the broke accused has very few options other than tremendous study of case law, consulting with an "expert" in such cases or sentencing (around $1000-$2000), and/or perhaps joining a self-help "pro se" workshop where law is discussed and mock trials or pleadings are practiced but NO legal advice is given. WARNING: That might not be helpful at all. This is like trying to become a brain surgeon in a couple of months. Talking to someone not a lawyer as if they were a lawyer could be devastating to a defense when such person is called to testify to what you said. They MUST tell the truth. The accused is screwed at that point. If it was a pretty bad crime, they may WANT to tell any confession.

Investigators can be important for producing leads and evidence for rebuttals, and except for outright admission of a crime comments coming through a lawyer may be confidential. Again, we would say nothing to anyone not privileged unless it was an EARLY apology in complete private to someone who feels victimized. It is possible that your statements or apologies would be recorded. NEVER EVER threaten or write anything that could be interpreted wrongly. It is VERY rare that any contact with an actual victim could have a good outcome, and could cause great renewal of emotional distress. Most victims rightfully want the perpetrator punished. At no time other than a sincere apology and perhaps a statement acknowledging deserving punishment would anything else likely be appropriate. A lawyer is likely to advise to avoid all contact with an actual victim, except under the most controlled circumstances, probably in his office. The risk of being recorded remains great.

A specialized private investigator of other defense expert may be able to offer suggestions, help and education and help gather evidence and references, find out how cases like this have been handled in your area. A good expert or investigator specialized in this type of case may have very useful suggestions to make to you or your lawyer to help inform of approaches possible in your defense. Statements to an expert or investigator not part of a legal defense managed by the lawyer are NOT privileged. Then if subpoenaed the expert or detective would have to disclose anything said by you as to guild or innocence or related.

An investigator may be associated with a polygraph lie-detector firm. Although not admissible in most courts in a trial, passing results of an exam can influence some prosecutors to drop charges. Again, only a polygraph ordered by a lawyer can be privileged.

Understand that the criminal justice system does not work very well and your actual innocence or guilt may not matter to the prosecutor. Many are more interested in conviction statistics than truth and justice. A policeman's word is also presumed by juries to be truth until disproved. But many police lie on the stand. If you claim they are lying and can not prove it (they have more people on their side), you may be further charged with perjury or obstruction of justice. (ie" Add 2 years to sentence)

If you have a history of being overly friendly with children or seeking positions which bring you into contact with children or teenagers, any allegations relating to minors will likely be considered even more seriously and credible by police.

Before hiring a lawyer might be a good time to hire an expert in these types of prosecutions to help select and manage a lawyer. Be aware there are very few good lawyers. You must seek assistance and education in this matter. An expert can help greatly in this for as little as a few hundred dollars. But odds are when you defend against actual charges in this kind of case, there won't be any money left unless you have a handy two or three hundred thousand dollars or more.

Be aware that some children or minors are easily influenced and imaginative. "Leading" questions or suggestions can ultimately ruin a real case of abuse. This area should be explored with a knowledgeable investigator-expert and is mentioned in checklists about such cases.

If a case of rape or molestation is suspected, you may be faced with a very serious problem, particularly if there is a strong claim and statement to authorities by the victim or other evidence. Those are usually cases to seek experts and good legal advice.

In summary, accusations of child abuse are extremely serious, legally and otherwise. The accused should rapidly become aware of all the implications and possible repercussions. Many people do not realize they are actually guilty or the extent of their guilt and it is an extremely difficult area to defend against or to find any sympathy or "benefit of the doubt" from anyone. Fighting a case where guilt is fairly clear or provable could end up in serving "actual time" and longer time in prison than SOMETIMES when a deal can be worked out for probation and treatment. But in those "deals", the accused will likely face long registration as a sex offender, 10 years or more. However all that beats long prison time.

In any deal, there are crucial things to know, that your lawyer and experts specializing in helping "manage" lawyers and help do research and compose questions for the lawyer---can explain. Hiring an "assistant" expert can likely save as much as five years off of a sentence that might then be probated. (NOTE: Federal crimes NEVER get probation if over one year sentence. ) If the crime involved the internet or crossing state lines, assume the case may be Federal. If something really horrendous was done and the accused really ticks everyone off, both the state and Federal may separately charge offenses, in which case a person may NEVER get out if sentences are not set to run concurrently. Probation gets automatically violated and time gets added on, back and forth until the inmate dies. That can be the reality of having a weak defense, being really bad and then fighting in court and making people really mad. Few of the courts work right anyway. Judges tend to throw out defense evidence and arguments. No, complaints don't work.

When a person breaks these laws, there is seldom any good outcome unless the victim recants, is unwilling to testify or there is no real evidence. Unless a case was clearly very winnable (in which a deferred adjudication is more likely--dropping of a case with some evidence is not so often--that's where the reputation of the lawyer may help them decide to drop or dismiss the case if your lawyer wins at trials), some degree of remorse and attempt to "get treatment" is often the best course. Only your lawyer can advise on this.