Richmond, Texas 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 Fort Bend County Juvenile Sex Crimes Attorney James Sullivan at (281) 546-6428 for a free confidential consultation.
DIGNITY, EMPATHY AND COMPASSION
Fort Bend County Juvenile Sex Offense Lawyer James Sullivan is Board Certified in Juvenile Law. Juvenile Law is different than criminal law. Note: Among the more than 83,000 active lawyers in Texas, there are only 38 lawyers Board Certified in Juvenile Law and in private practice in the state of Texas.
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.
CASE RESULTS – JUVENILE SEX OFFENSES
The case histories below represent a few of the many juveniles charged with sex offenses that Jim Sullivan has represented. All cases were in Harris County (Houston), except where noted. Past results are not a guarantee of a similar result in any future case.
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POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF JUVENILE SEX OFFENSES:
DISCRETIONARY TRANSFER TO CRIMINAL COURT
An Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child offense is a first degree felony. If the juvenile is 14 years of age or older at the time of the alleged offense, the State can seek to have the juvenile transferred to criminal court and stand trial as an adult. In adult court, the range of punishment is from five years to life in prison.
Indecency with a Child can be either a second or third degree felony. If the juvenile is 15 years of age or older at the time of the alleged offense, the State can seek to have the juvenile transferred to criminal court and stand trial as an adult. In adult court, the range of punishment is from 2 years to 10 or 20 years in prison.
DETERMINATE SENTENCE
Instead of a transfer to criminal court, the State can also seek a Determinate Sentence for a juvenile aged 10 years or older for a juvenile felony sex offense. If this were to happen, a juvenile could never seal his juvenile record. He could be placed on probation for up to 10 years with automatic transfer to adult probation at age 18. He could also be sent to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (former known as Texas Youth Commission) for up to 40 years for a first degree felony, up to 20 years for a second degree felony and up to 10 years for a third degree felony. If sent to TJJD and to be eligible for parole, he first has to stay a minimum of 3 calendar years for a first degree felony, 2 calendar years for a second degree felony and 1 calendar year for a third degree felony. If the juvenile does not parole out by age 19, then he is automatically transferred to adult prison, although depending on his behavior he could be transferred as early as age 16.
INDETERMINATE SENTENCE
Instead of the severe consequences of a transfer to adult court or determinate sentence, the State can proceed with an Indeterminate Sentence. In such a case, the juvenile could petition the court to seal his record at age 19 as long as he is not required to register as a sex offender. Also, the juvenile could receive probation until age 18. As a condition of probation, he could be placed outside his home for sex offender counseling and treatment. He could also be sent to TJJD where he could be held until age 19. In most of his negotiated cases, James Sullivan has been able to reach an agreement with the State for his client to receive Indeterminate Sentence probation at home for two years, the minimum statutory required length of probation for a felony sex offense.
SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION
The Judge can also order the juvenile to register as a sex offender until age 28. The defense attorney may be able to persuade the State to agree to defer registration, i.e. the Judge will make the decision regarding sex offender registration after the juvenile completes his or her sex offender counseling. James Sullivan has been successful in his cases to either defer the registration decision or to not require the juvenile to register at all.
DE-REGISTRATION – EXCUSING SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION
James Sullivan has also been successful in persuading juvenile courts to allow juveniles to be excused from further sex offender registration that would otherwise be required by Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. A juvenile ordered to register as a sex offender only has two chances to request de-registration as a sex offender. Therefore, it is important to retain an attorney experienced in the process. Ideally, it is better to request de-registration prior to the juvenile’s 18th birthday when he would otherwise have to begin registering as an adult until age 28. However, the juvenile can still request de-registration even after having reached age 18 or older. If you or your child were ordered to register as a sex offender by a juvenile court and want to be excused from further registration or if your child is charged with a sex offense, then contact James Sullivan at (281) 546-6428.
James Sullivan attended the Trial Lawyers College founded by Legendary lawyer Gerry Spence and was invited to join The National Trial Lawyers organization. Sullivan has a proven record of defending people from all walks of life, faiths and countries in courts throughout Texas.
Contact James Sullivan & Associates for a free initial consultation at (281) 546-6428 about your child’s juvenile sex crime charges in Harris County (Houston), Montgomery County (Conroe), Fort Bend County (Richmond), Brazoria County (Angleton), Galveston County (Galveston), Matagorda County (Bay City), Waller County (Hempstead), Washington County (Brenham), Liberty County (Liberty), Chambers County (Anahuac), Jefferson County (Beaumont) and throughout Texas.
WARNING TO PARENTS ABOUT SMART PHONES
Attorney Sullivan regularly warns parents of the dangers of unsupervised internet access for children, especially via a smart phone (e.g., I-Phone), but can also be by other mobile devices (e.g., I-Pad), computers or gaming systems (e.g., Play Station or Xbox). The danger is that children and young adults can easily access websites that offer free high speed, hard core pornography. These websites offer videos displaying every sexual deviancy imaginable and can easily warp the minds of children and young adults.
Since 1994, Sullivan has defended hundreds of juveniles and adults accused of felony sex offenses, including juveniles as young as 10. Over the last few years, about 80 percent of his juvenile cases stemmed from juveniles acting out with other children after having viewed hard core pornography on their or a friend’s smart phone, computer or gaming station. Obviously, cell phone service, gaming system and other internet related providers need to better warn parents of the dangers of these devices. By researching online or reading over the owner’s manual, you can learn how to block access to porn on your child’s smart phones although these filters are not 100% effective.
CASE EXAMPLES
The stories of Sullivan’s juvenile clients that stemmed from exposure to online pornography are heart wrenching, yet almost completely avoidable. Case examples include: a 13 year old boy impregnating his 11 year old sister, a 10 year old boy paying a 6 year old girl who lived next door for oral sex, a 14 year old boy engaging in sex acts with his 12 year old brother over a one year period, a 15 year old boy frequently having sex with his 12 year old adopted sister over a one year period and many more.
It is important for juveniles to receive professional counseling. In one memorable case, the children did not receive the counseling they needed and were later charged with serious felony sex offenses. In that case, Sullivan was hired to represent a 14 year old boy who had fondled his 7 year old stepsister. The boy had two older brothers who were 15 and 16 years of age. The 15 year old was also accused of fondling the stepsister, and the 16 year old was accused of molesting children in a neighboring county. Sullivan’s associate Nancy Botts was hired to represent the 15 year old. The 14 and 15 year old brothers received probation. The 16 year old was certified to stand trial as an adult. He was represented by a different law firm.
Seven years earlier when the older brother was 9 years old he began acting out sexually with his younger brothers, then ages 7 and 8. At that time, the older brother had received a smartphone as a Christmas present, used it to look at pornography online, shown the videos to his younger brothers and then began acting out with them in their bedroom. When they were caught in the act, the three brothers were separated and placed with different relatives. Unfortunately, none of the three children received any counseling. Fast forward seven years and the three brothers are arrested and charged separately with serious felony sex offenses.
