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Toccoa. March 28, 2003. In two recent child molestation cases, thorough investigation and research resulted in the reduction of serious charges to misdemeanor offenses in Stephens County. In the first case, the individual was accused of aggravated sexual battery in relation to the alleged digital penetration of his minor daughter. The client prior to representation had admitted touching the minor daughter at a time when he was suffering from depression and was under the influence of alcohol. If the client had gone to trial or plead to the charged offense, he would have received a sentence of ten to twenty years in prison, and would have been required to serve at least ten years in prison. In order to avoid the risk of trial, the client agreed to enter a plea to misdemeanor sexual battery. The client entered the plea pursuant to the first offender act. This will not free him from the requirement of registering as a sex offender and will result in the case being dismissed without a conviction when he successfully completes his probation. In the second case, the individual had met a young woman over the internet. There was no sexual communication between the two. At some point, they began to communicate by phone. Shortly after this, the young woman admitted to the client that she was under the age of sixteen. The client immediately cut off contact with her. Almost a year later, the young woman stated to a psychologist that the client had sex with her on two occasions when her mother was out of the house, and on one occasion he brought his young sons with him and left them in his truck while having sexual relations with her. There was no physical examination performed due to the amount of time that had passed. The client vehemently denied these allegations. He submitted to a polygraph examination by Richard D. Rackleff of Federal Polygraph Associates. Mr. Rackleff is one of the most highly regarded polygraph examiners in the Southeast. The examination showed no deception when the client said that he had had no sexual communication with the young woman and had had no physical contact with the young woman and no deception to any question in the examination. The client decided to enter a nolo contendere plea to misdemeanor reckless conduct in order to avoid the costs and risks of trial and maintains his innocence. During the same term of court, we were able to obtain a "10 do 5" sentence for a person accused of their third lifetime sale of cocaine charge. This was a significant reduction in punishment for this offense based on similar cases handled in Stephens County. |
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