Child Molestation Lawyer Virginia

“Child molestation” is not the name of an offense in the Code of Virginia. A person searching that phrase after an arrest or a police contact is usually facing a charge under one of three sections. Va. Code § 18.2-370 covers taking indecent liberties with children. Va. Code § 18.2-67.3 covers aggravated sexual battery. Va. Code § 18.2-67.4 covers sexual battery, a Class 1 misdemeanor. Which section applies turns on the age of the complaining witness, the relationship between the parties, and the specific conduct alleged, and the distance between those sections is the distance between a misdemeanor and a felony punishable by one to 20 years and a fine of up to $100,000 under § 18.2-67.3. Registration is a separate question governed by Va. Code § 9.1-902, which defines the offenses requiring registration on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry and sorts them into Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III; a violation of § 18.2-370 is a Tier III registrable offense. Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., is a Former Prosecutor, and the firm has handled Virginia felony defense since 1997. Cases of this kind usually rest on a child’s statement, a recorded forensic interview, and the accounts of the adults who first heard the allegation rather than on physical evidence. The sequence in which the allegation was reported, repeated, and recorded therefore sits at the center of the defense. Request a consultation and reach our location at (888) 437-7747.

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How Virginia Charges the Conduct People Call Child Molestation

Va. Code § 18.2-370, taking indecent liberties with children, is the section most often behind the phrase. It applies to a person 18 or older who, with lascivious intent, exposes sexual parts to a child under 15, proposes fondling, proposes sexual acts, or entices the child into any vehicle, room, house, or other place for those purposes. A violation is a Class 5 felony. It becomes a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent violation and for a parent or grandparent whose offense is committed against a relative under 15. A violation of this section is a Tier III registrable offense under Va. Code § 9.1-902.

Va. Code § 18.2-67.3, aggravated sexual battery, reaches sexual abuse in four described situations: where the complaining witness is under 13; where the act is accomplished through the mental incapacity or physical helplessness of the complaining witness; where the offense is committed by a parent, step-parent, grandparent or step-grandparent of a complaining witness 13 to 17; and where the act is accomplished by force, threat or intimidation against a complaining witness 13 to 14. The section is punishable by one to 20 years and a fine of up to $100,000.

Va. Code § 18.2-67.4, sexual battery, is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The facts that place a matter on one side of that line or the other are usually the age of the complaining witness on the alleged date and the family relationship between the parties. Those facts are provable or not provable from records, and they are worth confirming rather than accepting from a charging document.

Registration follows from the section of conviction. Va. Code § 9.1-902 defines which offenses require registration on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry and sorts them into Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III. Tier assignment frequently turns on the offense date, so two files describing similar allegations can carry different registration consequences depending on when the conduct is alleged to have occurred. Any discussion of resolving a case has to account for the registration consequence attached to the section named in the disposition.

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

Cases under Va. Code § 18.2-370 and Va. Code § 18.2-67.3 usually rest on words rather than on physical evidence, so the defense begins with the record of how the allegation was created. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys request the initial complaint, any recording of a forensic interview, the notes generated during the investigation, school and medical records where they exist, and any earlier statements the complaining witness or the reporting adult has made. The order in which those materials were generated matters as much as their content.

The charged section is measured against the alleged facts. Section 18.2-370 requires a person 18 or older acting with lascivious intent and directs itself at a child under 15. Section 18.2-67.3 is built around the age of the complaining witness, the relationship of the accused to that witness, and whether the act involved force, threat, intimidation, mental incapacity, or physical helplessness. Where the facts do not fit the section charged, that mismatch is raised before trial rather than after a verdict.

Registration exposure is treated as a term of the outcome instead of a footnote to it. Because Va. Code § 9.1-902 sorts offenses into tiers and tier assignment frequently turns on the offense date, the dates alleged in the charging document are checked against the section cited.

Any recorded interview of the accused is reviewed for what was asked and how it was asked. Contact with children, employment, and housing are usually restricted while a case is pending, and those conditions are addressed at the bond stage. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Request a consultation to have the charging documents reviewed.

The Attorneys Handling Virginia Felony Sex Offense Cases

Mr. Sris founded Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. in 1997 and serves as its Owner and Founder. He is a Former Prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. Work on the charging side of criminal cases shapes how he reads a file built on statements: which passages of a report record an observation and which record an inference drawn afterward.

Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys practice in Virginia criminal defense, and the firm is experienced in felony matters in Virginia circuit courts. Charges under Va. Code § 18.2-370, Va. Code § 18.2-67.3, and Va. Code § 18.2-67.4 are handled with attention to confidentiality, because an accusation of this kind reaches a client’s employment and family well before a court reaches any conclusion.

Clients reach the firm through 24/7 phone intake, which matters when an arrest occurs outside court hours and a bond hearing is the first event in the case. Staffing on each matter is set by the court involved, the posture of the case, and the volume of discovery, and clients are told who is responsible for each part of the defense.

The firm serves clients from its Virginia locations. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747 to request a consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is child molestation a criminal charge in Virginia?

The Code of Virginia does not use that phrase as an offense name. Conduct described that way is prosecuted under specific sections. Va. Code § 18.2-370 covers taking indecent liberties with children and is a Class 5 felony, or a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent violation and for a parent or grandparent whose offense is against a relative under 15. Va. Code § 18.2-67.3 covers aggravated sexual battery and is punishable by one to 20 years and a fine of up to $100,000. Va. Code § 18.2-67.4 covers sexual battery and is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Reading the warrant or indictment to see which section is cited is the first step in understanding what you are facing.

What separates sexual battery from aggravated sexual battery in Virginia?

Va. Code § 18.2-67.4 defines sexual battery as a Class 1 misdemeanor. Va. Code § 18.2-67.3 defines aggravated sexual battery, which 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 by a parent, step-parent, grandparent or step-grandparent of a complaining witness 13 to 17; or where the act is by force, threat or intimidation against a complaining witness 13 to 14. The aggravated section carries one to 20 years and a fine of up to $100,000. The line between the two usually turns on the age of the complaining witness and the relationship between the parties.

Does a conviction require registration on Virginia’s registry?

Registration is governed by Va. Code § 9.1-902, which defines the offenses requiring registration on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry and sorts them into Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III. A violation of Va. Code § 18.2-370 is a Tier III registrable offense under that section. Tier assignment frequently turns on the offense date, so two cases involving similar allegations can carry different registration consequences depending on when the conduct is alleged to have occurred. Registration follows from the section of conviction rather than from the length of a sentence.

What if the allegation is false?

Allegations involving a child are sometimes made during a custody dispute, a divorce, or a conflict inside a household, and sometimes they grow out of a misunderstanding that hardens as it is repeated. Virginia law does not treat those circumstances as a defense standing alone. They are the starting point for examining how the allegation developed. The defense traces who first heard the statement, what questions were asked, how the account was recorded, and how it changed between the first report and any later interview. Prior messages, records, and the timing of the disclosure relative to other events in the household are part of that review. Each case turns on its own record.

What should you do if police contact you about an allegation involving a child?

You are not required to answer questions from police, and a conversation meant to clear something up frequently becomes the strongest evidence in the file, because a recorded denial that shifts on one detail can be used later as an inconsistency. You may say that you will not answer questions without an attorney present. Do not contact the complaining witness, the family, or anyone connected to the allegation, and do not delete messages or devices, which can create a separate problem. Write down what you remember while it is fresh and preserve records that fix dates and locations. Then request a consultation so that account can be reviewed alongside the file.

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.

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