What to Expect If You are Charged With a Sexual Assault Crime

Rhode Island Sexual Assault

Regardless of whether or not you have committed a crime, being arrested is a very stressful and unsettling experience. Being charged with a sex crime is even more unsettling, as there are several possible outcomes that will have a seriously detrimental affect on you for the rest of your life.

Sexual assault is defined differently depending upon the state in which the charges are brought.

Generally, it encompasses any assault on another individual that is of a sexual nature, and that is done without consent.

What constitutes a sex assault is determined by the laws of the jurisdiction where the crime takes place. These crimes can include child sexual abuse, rape, attempted rape, incest, exhibitionism, voyeurism, obscene phone calls, fondling, and sexual harassment. The absence of consent is what defines sexual activity as an assault.

A guilty verdict for any form of sexual assault may result in serious fines, registration as a sexual offender, and possibly lengthy prison sentences depending upon the seriousness of the crime.
Immediately after charges are brought forward law enforcement will arrest you. You will be read your rights and handcuffed. There are few exceptions to being handcuffed, not even for the disabled or elderly. You will be searched and have any unauthorized items confiscated and placed in a property vault. It is important to note that any illegal items found in your possession will most certainly add to the charges against you.

You will be transported to the county jail where you will then be fingerprinted, photographed, and examined by a medical practitioner if necessary. Once this is over, you will be issued a jumpsuit, footwear, and escorted to a holding cell.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.

Attorney John E. MacDonald announces the successful resolution of a Post-Conviction Relief Immigration case

Post-Conviction Relief and Immigration Attorney John E. MacDonald announces the successful resolution of another case.

1999 conviction for second degree child molestation vacated pursuant to the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision of Padilla v. Kentucky.

Client was never advised by his attorney that his conviction constituted an aggravated felony charge under immigration law requiring automatic deportation from the United States. An application for post-conviction relief was filed in Providence Superior Court and granted based upon the requirement under Padilla for counsel to correctly advise their clients as to the adverse deportation consequences of any criminal conviction.

Client is now eligible to re-open and terminate his deportation order.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.

Convicted Child Molester to Receive New Trial in Rhode Island.

On May 11, 2010, the Rhode Island Supreme Court overturned its previous ruling in the case of State of Rhode Island v. Langstaff to allow for a new trial. The decision is based on the fact that the prosecution did not submit valuable and incriminating evidence in a timely fashion, and yet was still allowed to use it as admissible evidence at trial.

Rhode Island Criminal Defense and Molestation Charges Attorney John MacDonald found this to be an article of interest.

The defendant is scheduled for release in September 2012. The full article follows below.

RI High Court Overturns Molestation Conviction

May 11, 2010
Tracy Breton

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the child molestation conviction of Christopher Langstaff, of Newport, saying his trial judge, Edwin J. Gale, erred in allowing incriminating testimony into evidence that the prosecutor did not turn over to the defense until the second day of trial.

The court ordered a new trial for Langstaff, 35, who has been serving a six-year term of imprisonment since his conviction by a Newport County Superior Court jury in June 2007. With credit for time he was held after his arrest, and "good time" credits, he is scheduled for release on Sept. 25, 2012, a corrections official said today.

With today's decision, however, he may petition to be released from the Adult Correctional Institutions pending the outcome of a new trial.

Langstaff was sentenced by Gale to serve six years of a 15-year sentence after a jury convicted the defendant of one count of second-degree child molestation sexual assault.

The complaining witness was 13 at the time of trial and was then living in Florida. The alleged offense took place in Newport at the defendant's home.

The high court, in a decision written by Justice William P. Robinson III, said that the evidence in question -- which was highly incriminating -- was "plainly inadmissible" because the prosecutor did not disclose it in a timely fashion. The high court said "there is no evidence in the record that the prosecution deliberately withheld information" as to what the complaining witness would testify to but that "it is our judgment that it was clear error for the trial justice to have permitted the introduction of this evidence for any purpose just a few short hours after defendant was apprised of it.''

In order for a defendant to receive a fair trial, the high court said, there is a pre-trial discovery rule that require prosecutors to turn over to the defense all incriminating evidence they it plan to use at trial. "We have further noted," Robinson wrote, "that the primary purposes of the rule are to eliminate surprise at trial and to ensure that both parties receive the fullest possible presentation of the facts prior to trial."

The prosecutor told the court that the last-minute disclosure occurred because the victim, just before taking the stand, provided a different version of events than what she had told the police.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.