Sexual Abuse of a Child Under 15 Lawyer Virginia

Virginia has no single offense named sexual abuse of a child under 15. Prosecutors choose among statutes, and that choice governs everything that follows: the felony class, the sentencing exposure, the elements the Commonwealth must prove, and the defenses that are available. Va. Code § 18.2-370 addresses taking indecent liberties with children. Va. Code § 18.2-67.3 addresses aggravated sexual battery. Va. Code § 18.2-63 addresses carnal knowledge of a child 13 or older but under 15 without force. Each provision reaches different conduct and draws its own age lines, and a matter that begins under one section is often amended as the evidence develops. The first task in the defense is therefore precision: identifying exactly what has been alleged, under which statute, and under which subsection. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. practices in Virginia criminal defense, including felony matters arising from allegations by or about children. Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., is a former prosecutor and founded the practice in 1997. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys examine the charging documents, the recorded forensic interview, the circumstances in which the allegation first surfaced, and the medical and digital material the Commonwealth intends to introduce. Nothing about an accusation of this kind should be answered from memory or improvised at an interview. Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747.

On this page

What These Charges Mean in Virginia

Va. Code § 18.2-370 makes it a Class 5 felony for a person 18 or older who, with lascivious intent, exposes sexual parts to a child under 15, proposes fondling or sexual acts, or entices the child into any vehicle, room, house, or other place for those purposes. The classification rises to a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent violation and for a parent or grandparent offense against a relative under 15. The statute turns on lascivious intent, which is a state of mind the Commonwealth must prove and which is often contested where the underlying act is ambiguous or where the account of it has changed.

Va. Code § 18.2-67.3 governs aggravated sexual battery. It reaches sexual abuse where the complaining witness is under 13; where the act is accomplished through mental incapacity or physical helplessness; where the offense is committed by a parent, step-parent, grandparent or step-grandparent of a witness 13 to 17; or where the act is by force against a witness 13 to 14. The offense is punishable by one to 20 years and a fine of up to $100,000. The age tiers and the relationship categories are doing real work in this statute, and whether a case fits one of them is frequently the difference between charges.

Va. Code § 18.2-63 addresses carnal knowledge of a child 13 or older but under 15 without force. A violation under subsection A is a Class 4 felony. Because the section applies where force is absent, the presence or absence of force is not the litigated question; age and the act itself are.

Reading these three provisions together explains why charging decisions in this area shift. The same reported conduct may be described by an investigator in terms that fit one statute, presented to a grand jury under another, and argued at trial under a third. Ages at the time of the alleged conduct, the family relationship if any, the specific acts described, and the intent evidence each move the case between sections. A defense that answers the wrong statute answers nothing.

How Mr. Sris and the Firm’s Of Counsel Attorneys Handle These Cases

The forensic interview is usually where the case is made or unmade. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys obtain the recording rather than the summary, then review how the questions were framed, whether the account was consistent across tellings, what the child was told before the interview, and who was present. Suggestive questioning, repeated interviews, and adult intermediaries between the child and the record are recurring issues in this area of Virginia practice.

The origin of the report receives close attention. Allegations sometimes surface during a custody or visitation dispute, after a household conflict, or through a mandatory reporter passing along a secondhand statement. None of that makes an allegation false, and none of it is a defense on its own, but the sequence in which an accusation emerged is part of the record a court is entitled to hear.

Physical and medical evidence is reviewed independently. Examination findings in these cases are frequently described as non-specific, and a report that neither confirms nor excludes abuse should not be presented to a jury as though it did more. Where laboratory or examination evidence is offered, the firm looks at the collection conditions, the interval between the reported conduct and the examination, and the limits the examiner placed on their own conclusions.

Digital material matters as well. Messages, device contents, and location data are often introduced to establish opportunity or intent under Va. Code § 18.2-370, and extractions are commonly produced in incomplete form. The firm also tracks the charging posture throughout, since an amendment from one statute to another changes the elements and can change the sentencing exposure. From that record, the firm evaluates motions practice, negotiation where the evidence supports it, and preparation for a contested trial where it does not.

Counsel Assigned to Virginia Child Sex Offense Defense

Mr. Sris serves as Owner and Founder of the firm and is a former prosecutor. He is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York, and he has practiced since founding the firm in 1997. His prosecution background informs the way these files are assessed, because charging decisions involving a child under 15 are made internally long before an arrest, and understanding how the Commonwealth builds and tests such a case shapes where a defense applies pressure.

Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys handle Virginia felony matters together, with assignments determined by the posture of the case and the court in which it is pending. The firm concentrates in criminal defense and related litigation, and it has handled Virginia felony matters since 1997. Individual Of Counsel attorneys are introduced to a client when their matter is assigned rather than through this page.

Allegations of this kind carry collateral consequences that begin before any court date. Protective orders, no-contact conditions, removal from a household, employment suspension, professional licensing review, immigration consequences, and registration obligations may all be in play. Those issues are addressed alongside the criminal case rather than after it, because decisions made in the first weeks often constrain what is possible later. Request a consultation to review the specific statute charged and the evidence behind it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Virginia statute applies to an allegation involving a child under 15?

It depends on the conduct alleged, the child’s age, and the relationship between the parties. Va. Code § 18.2-370 covers taking indecent liberties with children, including exposure with lascivious intent, proposals of fondling or sexual acts, and enticing a child under 15 into a vehicle, room, house, or other place for those purposes. Va. Code § 18.2-67.3 covers aggravated sexual battery, with age tiers and relationship categories. Va. Code § 18.2-63 covers carnal knowledge of a child 13 or older but under 15 without force. Reading the warrant or indictment closely is the starting point.

What penalties do these statutes carry?

Taking indecent liberties with children under Va. Code § 18.2-370 is a Class 5 felony, and the classification rises to a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent violation and for a parent or grandparent offense against a relative under 15. Aggravated sexual battery under Va. Code § 18.2-67.3 is punishable by one to 20 years and a fine of up to $100,000. Carnal knowledge of a child 13 or older but under 15 without force is a Class 4 felony under subsection A of Va. Code § 18.2-63. Sentencing outcomes vary with the record before the court.

Does the child have to testify?

That question is answered case by case and is one of the significant points of contention in this area. The Commonwealth may rely on a child’s live testimony, and it may also seek to introduce statements the child made to others. How and whether those out-of-court statements come in is litigated, and it interacts with the accused person’s confrontation rights. Because the recorded forensic interview frequently drives what the Commonwealth can do, obtaining and reviewing that recording early is central to preparing the defense rather than a later step.

What happens if the family wants to withdraw the accusation?

A criminal charge belongs to the Commonwealth, not to the complaining witness or the family, so a request to drop the matter does not end it. A recantation or a changed account becomes evidence to be evaluated, and prosecutors frequently proceed anyway. Do not contact the child, the family, or anyone connected to the allegation to discuss it. Contact of that kind can result in separate charges and can be presented at trial as consciousness of guilt. Route any information through counsel instead.

What should you do if you learn you are under investigation?

Say nothing about the allegation to investigators, the family, or anyone else, and speak with a lawyer. Interviews in these matters are often requested before charges are filed, and the statements taken become the core of the Commonwealth’s case. Do not delete messages, reset a device, or move out of a home without legal advice, since each step can create additional exposure. Preserve calendars, messages, and any records showing where you were. The firm maintains 24/7 phone intake. Request a consultation to review the allegation before you respond to it.

This page provides general information and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.