3 Potential Defenses to Child Molestation Cases

Child molestation is a very serious crime. Like all serious crimes, the repercussions of even being accused of such an act can be devastating. However, the good news is that in our country simply being accused of a crime doesn’t mean you are guilty. A jury must find you guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt” because you are “presumed innocent until the contrary can be proven”. 

Unfortunately, in certain exceptionally egregious cases, such as child molestation,  being accused is oftentimes enough to convince jurors that you are likely guilty. When this happens some jurors will not keep an open mind when it is the defense turn to present evidence in favor of acquittal. 

In many cases, a juror may assume someone is guilty based on the fact that they are accused by a child, who seemingly has no reason to make up such an accusation. When a juror begins the trial with this state of mind it could lead to devastating consequences for the individual on trial. 

How Our Law Firm Attacks False Allegations Of Child Molestation

Any time our law firm is preparing to defend a child molestation case, we want to start by explaining to the jury why in this particular case the allegation is being made. When we do this it allows the jurors to “reinstitute our clients’ presumption of innocence in their mind so they can give our client a fair trial.”  

Below are the three (3) most common defenses to child molestation cases:

1)     Misconstrued Intent

Our firm represented a substitute teacher in Orange County who was accused of grinding his penis against a student’s buttocks. Upon hearing the facts, it became obvious to us that the teacher had merely bumped into the student and had no sexual intent whatsoever. We pointed out that there were many times the student misconstrued the teacher’s intentions, construing normal interactions as sexual. For instance,

during a gym class that was being taught by our client, the class was instructed to perform a running in place exercise called “booty kickers,” which the student admittedly misconstrued as a sexual term.

Social situations are difficult, especially for children who do not yet have the knowledge to judge individual intent in complex scenarios. Oftentimes their own fears or insecurities project into their perception and end in a situation like this one. Thankfully, after providing this evidence and more like it to the jury, our client was rightfully found not guilty. If he had been found guilty he would have been sentenced to prison for many years and his teaching career would have ended.

2)     Manipulation

With divorce rates at an all-time high, it is a sad fact that children are oftentimes used as pawns to push a parent’s agenda during the divorce and child custody proceeding.  

Recently, our firm represented a man who was accused by his daughter of touching her sexually. After deeply evaluating the facts and diligently deliberating, we were able to show the jury that the defendant and his ex-wife were in the middle of a bitter ongoing custody dispute in which the mother used the daughter to fabricate the allegation, in order to help her gain custody of the child.

3)      Mistaken Identity

We represented a defendant who was accused of molesting the alleged victim more than 30 years in the past when both our client and the alleged victim were minors. In California, in 2021, there is almost no set statute of limitations for child molestation crimes. When allegations of molestation are made pertaining to acts claimed to have occurred many decades in the past the victim’s memory can often be hazy. In addition, the accused is often being asked to remember where he was on a particular day 20 or more years ago in order to defend him or herself.  

In this particular child molestation case, after we were able to question the alleged victim and spent countless hours digging through the case, we found that due to the long period of time that had elapsed, the victim had actually mistaken our client with another family member. We then were able to make this argument to the jury. The jury then returned a verdict of not guilty. Our client’s freedom was preserved and he was able to return to his family and his job.  

Contact An Experienced Wallin & Klarich Sex Crimes Defense Lawyer

If you have been charged or convicted of a sex crime, contact Wallin & Klarich today. We have a team of sex crimes defense attorneys with over 40 years of experience who are ready to aggressively defend your rights.

With offices in Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Victorville, West Covina, Torrance, Los Angeles, and San Diego, you can find an experienced Wallin & Klarich attorney to help you no matter where you are located. 

Contact our offices today at (877) 4-NO-JAIL or (714) 587-4279 for a free, no-obligation phone consultation. We will be there when you call.