Sugar Land, Texas Juvenile Sex Crimes Defense Specialist
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 mimic the behavior they have seen. Also, children themselves who have been sexually abused may act out on other children–sometimes years later. In such cases, it is very common that the child was abused at a young age by an older cousin, babysitter, coach or someone else close to the child. This prior abuse does not excuse the child’s actions, but it is mitigating. Without counseling and intervention, the child is likely to re-offend, and could even face a life sentence if re-offends later as an adult.
These cases should not be taken lightly. Within some families there are shameful secrets of sex abuse going back generations. The victims may or may not remember, and if confronted the perpetrators rarely admit it. Many times these secrets only come to light years later when their own children act out with others. As a result, it is often only these children that end up facing the legal consequences even though they themselves may have been abused by siblings, cousins, uncles, parents or grandparents. In some instances such abuse literally destroys the family. The trauma of the victim and the guilt of the perpetrator have led many to take their own lives, believing suicide was their only escape. For others their lives spiral out of control through alcoholism and drug addiction. Fortunately, with counseling and intervention there can be redemption and reconciliation.
Attorney James Sullivan has defended more than 100 children charged with juvenile sex crimes. Some children were innocent and falsely accused, others were acting out on behaviors they learned from pornography online or from when they themselves were victims, including a few from families of multi-generational sex abuse.
If your son or daughter was arrested, contact Fort Bend County Juvenile Attorney James Sullivan at (281) 546-6428 for a free phone consultation. Sullivan has been Board Certified in Juvenile Law since 2004 and is recognized statewide as an expert in juvenile law. There are only 38 lawyers Board Certified in Juvenile Law and in private practice in the state of Texas. Juvenile Law is different than criminal law. Sullivan has obtained good results for juveniles accused of sex offenses in the Greater Houston area, including Fort Bend County, Harris County and Montgomery County.
James Sullivan graduated from Baylor University in 1990, from South Texas College of Law in 1993 and has practiced criminal and juvenile law since 1994. Sullivan also 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 there are not taught anywhere else. The 1,150 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 even represented several 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. Certainly, each case is different. Similar results may not be obtained in your child’s case and past performance is no guarantee of future results.
RECENT CASE RESULTS – JUVENILE SEX OFFENSES
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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 defended over 100 juvenile sex offenders and not even one of his clients has had to register.
Contact James Sullivan & Associates for a free phone consultation at (281) 546-6428 about your child’s juvenile charges in Fort Bend County, Harris County, Montgomery County, Brazoria County, Galveston County, Waller County, and throughout southeast Texas.
This is one of Sullivan’s many client reviews on AVVO:
Excellent Above and Beyond Juvenile Representation
Hiring James Sullivan was the best decision we could have made in a very bad situation. Our 16 year old son was charged as a juvenile with aggravated sexual assault of a child and because of the age difference between him and the victim, the prosecutor was intent on a determinate sentence which would have labeled our son as a sex offender and felon for life. Our son may have had to register as a sex offender until age 28 and could never get his record sealed. Mr. Sullivan worked diligently to work out an informal agreement between our son and the county prosecutor that would allow our son to complete a sex offender therapy program and demonstrate rehabilitation. As we live in a different county from the one where the incident occurred, this was a very unusual situation. Mr. Sullivan even found a very qualified therapist in our area as we could not use the county’s providers due to the distance.
However, part of the informal agreement was that our son submit to polygraph tests. Although he had admitted to everything there was to admit in disclosing his sexual history, he could not pass a polygraph. This would have negated the agreement and once again our son would be facing a determinate sentence. Mr. Sullivan asked if our son had ever been treated for a mental health disorder. When he was younger, our son had been treated for an anxiety disorder. Based on his intuition and observation, Mr. Sullivan suggested that our son exhibited characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism, and that could explain his inability to pass a polygraph. We were a little skeptical at first, but had him tested, and our son was indeed diagnosed with Asperger’s, a part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder. Despite proof of the diagnosis, the county prosecutor continued to insist on moving forward to negate the agreement and have my son receive a determinate sentence. Over a two month period, Mr. Sullivan pressured the county prosecutor to back off and allow my son to finish the informal agreement. Mr. Sullivan even had a reputable civil rights attorney waiting by to file a discrimination suit based on my son’s disability. Finally, the county prosecutor relented and agreed to an indeterminate sentence probation and to transfer it to our own county. Our son will not have to undergo any more polygraph testing, will have the opportunity to complete his program and eventually to have his records sealed.
Throughout the process, Mr. Sullivan was thorough, compassionate and respectful. He was a rock for our family in a very turbulent time and we could not have asked for a better outcome.
~Post by Anonymous on June 6, 2016
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. To learn more about the devastating harm that pornography addiction causes, visit www.fightthenewdrug.org.
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 own 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.
