There is a rather pervasive idea out there that when you’re young, you don’t get held accountable for your actions. While that may be true for many things in life, it certainly doesn’t apply to sex crimes or sex assault cases here in Michigan. Just because you’re a teenager, doesn’t mean you’re not going to face very serious consequences for sexually assaulting another person. Even children can have their lives ruined by sex crime allegations!
Whether it’s rape, touching or child sex abuse, or offering to pay someone for sex, sex crimes are taken very seriously here in Michigan. And it doesn’t matter how old you are – if you break the law and assault someone sexually there’s going to be a very high price to pay.
What counts as a juvenile sex crime? Must it involve children?
Technically, by definition a “juvenile sex crime” is any sex crime where the perpetrator is a minor. So that could involve just about any type of sex crime. For example, if a teen under the age of consent in Michigan (which is 16 years old in most cases) has consensual sex with their boyfriend or girlfriend that could legally be viewed as ‘statutory rape‘. Anyone under 16 is considered a child not old enough to consent.
Although we don’t use the term “statutory rape” here in Michigan (this type of act would be charged as a first or third degree criminal sexual conduct, depending on the situation), the idea is the same. And even if both people involved cared for each other and were fully consenting, the law still sees them as children unable to consent. So the long term consequences would be devastating.
Once you’re on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry, that’s it for you!
Many (if not most) people who are convicted of serious sex crimes in Michigan have their names placed on the Sex Offender Registry. What that means is you’re placed on a list of registered sex offenders that can be accessed by the police, the public, and anyone who happens to be interested. So, your neighbor, your partner’s nosy parents, the prospective employer at your next job, and your landlord all get to see that you’re a convicted sex criminal.
But that’s not the worst of it though. Once you’re a registered sex offender, there’s not a lot you can do about it. It’s extremely hard to have your name taken off the registry later on. (And yes – this applies to children as well!) Depending on the crime you’ve been convicted of, you might be on there for 10 years, 25 years, or life. And although Michigan just passed the Clean Slate law which allows people to have certain crimes expunged, sex crimes aren’t on that list.
Having the right attorney makes a big difference!
Here at The Kronzek Firm, our aggressive and highly skilled sex crime defense attorneys have many decades of experience fighting sex crime charges. And that’s important. Why? Because the best way to avoid ending up on the sex offender registry, with restrictions on where you can go to school and what type of job you can have, is to avoid being convicted of a sex crime in the first place. And the only way to do that is to have an expert defense attorney on your side.
Sex crimes are hard to fight. There’s a lot of “he said, she said” involved, and people often lie or make false allegations. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that the attorney hired to defend children against sex crime allegations has a long track record of success. So if you or one of your kids has been accused of a sex crime, no matter how ridiculous the accusation might seem, call 866 766 5245 right now. Whether you live in Lansing, Caro, Battle Creek or Grand Rapids, or Big Rapids, we’re standing by to help you navigate this difficult time. We can be reached by calling 866 7NoJail.