What’s at stake when you’re charged with a sex crime?

Learn the stakes of a Tulsa sex crimes charge | Oklahoma Sex Crimes Lawyer

A Tulsa Sex Crimes Lawyer Explains What’s at Stake When You’re Facing Felony Sex Crime Charges

If you’ve never been in trouble with the law before, it’s hard to comprehend just how serious Tulsa sex crimes charges can be. You may be telling yourself that it’s all a misunderstanding, that you can make it go away by sharing your side of the story with the police, or that anyone who graduated from law school has the skills to build your defense. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

There’s no doubt about it. The decisions you make today will impact the rest of your life—and the lives of the people you care about the most. You need help from a Tulsa sex crimes lawyer who uses his experience as a former prosecutor to help clients accused of sex crimes get the best possible outcome for their case. You need Berlin Defense.

1. Your Freedom

It’s easy to look up the potential sentence for a crime. It’s harder to imagine what that loss of freedom looks like. In prison, every aspect of your routine is controlled. You’re told when to eat, when to sleep, and when you can communicate with your loved ones. The things you take for granted today—like sunlight, privacy, and internet access—will become precious commodities.

Even after your sentence ends, sex offender registration rules will keep you from being truly free. You’ll have restrictions on where you can live, where you can work, and who you can associate with. You’ll even need permission to go to church!

2. Your Financial Future

Yes, hiring a criminal defense attorney who focuses on sex crimes can seem costly at first glance. But, this one-time expense is nothing compared to the ongoing financial struggles your family will face if you’re convicted. Not only will they be missing your salary, but they’ll be incurring extra costs for phone calls, letters, and visits to stay in touch. They’ll also need to add funds to your prison commissary account so you can buy basic hygiene supplies, snacks to supplement your meager meals, and a deck of cards or a small radio to help fend off boredom.

The financial hardship won’t stop once your sentence is done, either. You’ll need to pay a monthly fee for the privilege of being on probation—and your criminal record is going to make it significantly harder to find suitable employment.

To help make the cost of legal representation more affordable, Berlin Defense offers convenient financing options.

3. The Well-Being of Your Children

It’s not easy for kids to express their emotions when they’re frustrated by everyday challenges, much less when they’ve been told their father is going to spend the next several years behind bars. Your potty-trained toddler may start wetting the bed. Your pre-teen son may act out by becoming increasingly aggressive or defiant. Your teen daughter may seek male attention in inappropriate and possibly unsafe ways.

Of course, the emotional turmoil associated with having a parent in prison will undoubtedly affect your child's ability to focus on their studies. The honor student you were once so proud of may suddenly be in danger of having to repeat a grade. The college fund you started with dreams of having your child attend a prestigious Ivy League school may need to be used to pay for summer school or remedial tutoring services. In extreme cases, you may even find that your child drops out of school altogether.

Even if your son or daughter is one of the most popular kids in their class, there’s a strong chance they’ll face social stigma and discrimination from their peers due to your incarceration. Information about your case and conviction will be readily accessible to anyone with an internet connection—making your child a target for bullies with an axe to grind.

4. Your Relationship With Your Spouse

Why do relationships end? Lack of intimacy? Financial stress? Lack of communication? Inability to spend quality time together? Even if you felt like your relationship was on solid ground before, a prison sentence will undoubtedly introduce all of these risk factors.

If you end up getting a divorce while you’re behind bars, good luck getting a fair settlement. Oklahoma divides marital property using the equitable distribution rule, which means the judge can consider any circumstances they want to conclude that a less than 50/50 split is appropriate. Your right to visitation is also likely to be affected, as you’ll need someone who is willing to bring your children to the prison for visitation.

5. Your Reputation in the Community

If you’re convicted of an Oklahoma sex crime, the reputation you’ve worked a lifetime to build will be destroyed by gossip. People who don’t know your side of the story will be making judgments—and spreading lies—to make themselves seem more important or to provide momentary relief from the tediousness of their daily lives. It may be that you were falsely accused of rape after a bad breakup, but that’s not going to matter if your mugshot shows up when your boss, co-worker, neighbor, or college roommate logs on to their favorite social media site.

While some of your friends and family may rush to defend your honor, others will start to question if the rumors are true. Since you won’t be around to provide any reassurance, they may determine that you simply weren’t the man they thought you were.

You Deserve a Fighting Chance

At Berlin Defense, we know that good people can make mistakes. That’s why we defend our clients without judgment. You may have been falsely accused of committing a serious felony sex offense such as rape or solicitation of a minor—or maybe you actually did it. I can help you either way. Check out our case results and client testimonials to learn more about why Berlin Defense is the right choice to help you move forward.