Sex Charges

In the wake of the Dr. Earle Bradley case, the Delaware Attorney Generals Office takes all sex offenses seriously and typically prosecutes these cases to the fullest extent of the law. If you are charged with a sex offense in Delaware you are facing jail time and registration on the Delaware sex offender registry. You will need a serious trial attorney to defend the charges at trial or mitigate your case at sentencing. Delaware sex offenses can be found in the Delaware Criminal Code at 11 Del. C. §761 to 778.

My office handles any and all sex offenses that occur within the State of Delaware. The following are some of the more common sex offenses that result in a prosecution:

• Unlawful Sexual Contact
• Rape
• Possession of Child Pornography
• Sexual Solicitation of a Child

When former Attorney General Beau Biden took office back in 2007 he established the Child Predator Unit and Child Predator Task Force to deal with sex offender cases. The Child Predator Unit is located in Dover, Delaware and prosecutes sex offenders statewide. Your case will be prosecuted by this unit. The unit is comprised of prosecutors and forensic investigators who are police officers specially trained to investigate sex crimes on the internet. The prosecutors are also specialized and only handle sex offense cases statewide. The forensic investigators in the unit have the latest technology and software to scan the internet for child pornography offenders and those who solicit minors on the internet through dating sites, chartrooms, and online sex forums. The Child Predator Task Force was set up so that local law enforcement has the latest technology and ability to cooperate with federal agencies to catch sexual predators.

Since the Deputy Attorney General prosecuting your case will have specialized knowledge and extensive resources, you will need an attorney that can level the playing field by mounting a vigorous defense against the sex charges. I am a former prosecutor and have experience prosecuting an defending high profile sex offense cases. If the State is missing an element of the crime and cannot prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, you should take the case to trial and avoid the consequences of a sex offense conviction. My office evaluates every case for trial and will leave no unturned in formulating your defense. We first look for any legal or factual defenses that can be used at trial or in a motion to suppress the physical evidence seized. Examples of effective defenses to sex charges include unlawful searches, defective search warrants, forced confessions, and the fact that others had access to the electronic device. We conduct a thorough review of the evidence which includes multiple interviews with the client and reviewing discovery such as police reports, physical evidence and witness statements in detail. If necessary, our office will file motions to compel discovery, issue subpoena duces tectums to produce physical evidence or hire a private investigator to learn more about your case.

In most sex offense cases it is important to retain a mitigation expert for use in sentencing that can do a psychological evaluation and make a recommendation to the sentencing court. The mitigation expert is typically a forensic psychologist or forensic psychiatrist that has years of experience going to court and testifying on behalf of criminal defendants charged as sex offenders. A forensic psychologist or psychiatrist is a doctor that testifies in court for a living and does not run a clinical practice treating patients. Our office has worked with and retained some of the top experts in the country. Expert opinions can be invaluable in negotiating plea deals and reducing the sentence. The expert will evaluate the offender, conduct testing and draft a detailed report outlining any mitigating factors in the defendant's case. These reports can assess the aggression of the offender, the likelihood of recidivism and make a treatment recommendations. Recommending an outpatient or inpatient treatment facility in lieu of incarceration can be an effective way to minimize or eliminate jail time.

Contact my office at 302-482-4802 if you or loved one is charged with a sex offense in the State of Delaware. It is crucial to contact a lawyer as soon as possible if you are being investigated. Do not talk to police prior to speaking with an attorney. If your loved one is already incarcerated we can make arrangements to visit at the prison and start the process of defending your loved one. You may want our office to file for a bail reduction or coordinate with a bail bondsman as soon as possible.

In addition to the above-mentioned crimes, my office also handles sex offenses such as:

• Indecent Exposure
• Sexual Exortion
• Continuous sexual abuse of a child
• Sexual exploitation of a child
• Unlawful imprisonment
• Kidnapping
• Interference with custody
• Sexual abuse of a child by a person in position of trust