Houston Board Certified Juvenile Defense Attorney
As parents, we know that children are naturally curious about their sexuality. In these modern times, children are reaching the onset of puberty at a younger and younger age (girls as young as nine and boys as young as ten). Their curiosity leads to natural experimentation. Unfortunately, such experimentation sometimes conflicts with state laws, and children as young as ten can be arrested and charged with serious felony offenses such as aggravated sexual assault of a child, sexual assault or indecency with a child.
Juvenile sex offenses, of course, can stem from other reasons. Children can be influenced to act out when they have been exposed to pornography or live sex. They will mimic the sexual behavior they have seen. And, of course, children who have been sexually abused will act out on those behaviors–sometimes years later. In such cases, it is very common that the child was abused at a young age by an older cousin, a babysitter, a coach or other such person close to the child. This prior abuse does not excuse the child’s actions, but it is definitely mitigating. Without counseling and intervention, the child is likely to re-offend. If the child later re-offends as an adult, he could be facing a life sentence.
If your child was arrested, contact Houston Juvenile Attorney James Sullivan at (281) 546-6428 for a free confidential consultation. Sullivan is recognized statewide as an expert in juvenile law and is an experienced trial lawyer. Sullivan has obtained good results for juveniles accused of sex offenses in the Greater Houston area (see below).
James Sullivan graduated from Baylor University in 1990 with a degree in Journalism, the ideal degree for investigating, discovering and telling winning stories in court. In 1993, Sullivan graduated from South Texas College of Law, which is nationally recognized as the top law school for trial advocacy.
James Sullivan later graduated from Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College in Wyoming. Founded in 1994, it is the most selective and prestigious trial advocacy program in America. The methods taught at TLC are not taught anywhere else. The 1150 graduates form an extremely unique community of the most accomplished trial lawyers in the United States. Sullivan has a proven record of defending people from all walks of life, faiths and countries in courts throughout Texas.
DIGNITY, EMPATHY AND COMPASSION
James Sullivan can help you and your child get through this difficult ordeal with dignity, empathy and compassion. He is sensitive to the emotional and psychological needs of children. He has represented a number of juvenile boys and girls who themselves had been victimized at a young age and had not reported it to their parents or to the authorities. In fact, it was only through his sensitive, patient and thought-provoking conversation with the child that he was able to draw out the prior abuse.
James Sullivan will work hard to persuade the State to non-suit (dismiss) your child’s case, to obtain an acquittal (not guilty) at trial or as a last result to negotiate a reasonable plea bargain. From the outset, he will work hard to keep your child out of the detention center or to have your child released from the detention center and then work toward keeping him or her at home and from having to register as a sex offender. In fact, not one of his juvenile clients has had to register as a sex offender. Such registration can be devastating to a child’s development and to his or her future.
James Sullivan is an expert in the field of juvenile law and has successfully represented juveniles charged with sex offenses and other felony and misdemeanor offenses in Houston and throughout southeast Texas. He has a proven track record in juvenile sex offense representation and is truly concerned about the many juveniles who do not have competent legal representation.
