Articles Posted in Sex Crimes

IMG_1293-768x1024 Airports are high security environments with strict rules enforced through law enforcement, federal agents, TSA checkpoints, drug-sniffing dogs, US Marshals aboard flights, and more. Being arrested at an airport is overwhelming, scary, and often times, completely unexpected. However, the consequences of these arrest can be serious and long-lasting. An arrest at an airport could lead to detention by law enforcement, criminal charges, and the need to retain legal representation.

If you are arrested at an airport, you may be taken into custody and transported to a detention center or police station where you will be held and processed until further legal proceedings. However, this does not always happen at the airport – you may leave the airport and later have a warrant issued for your arrest. In that case, you would still need to turn yourself in for processing with law enforcement. In either circumstance, it is essential to remember your rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to legal counsel. Contacting an experienced criminal defense attorney will help you navigate that distressing process with an advocate by your side.

Airport arrests can lead to severe criminal charges depending on the circumstances of your case. Common criminal charges in this context cover a broad range including drug offenses, sexual offenses, firearm offenses, DUIs, disorderly conduct, battery, theft, trafficking, and fraud. You could also be arrested at the airport for entirely unrelated criminal charges if you are simply identified and apprehended pursuant to an active arrest warrant, such as this recent arrest in Atlanta. Committing crimes while aboard an aircraft (like interfering with the performance of the duties of a flight crew) can lead to federal criminal charges and even more severe penalties. Many of these charges carry significant terms of imprisonment and hefty fines.

This news article explains most of the details of Mariam’s law, a law that was passed just last week.  It expands the restrictions on sex offenders.

The biggest wrinkle that this bill has caused so far is the requirement to be fitted by the Department of Community Supervision with a device capable of tracking the location of the sexual offender (aka ankle monitor) while on probation or parole and awaiting risk assessment classification from SORRB if the person has previously been convicted of a felony sexual offense. Basically, if the SORRB hasn’t leveled you yet, you will be contacted to get an ankle monitor at your expense, of course.

Or, if your assigned community supervision officer determines that a special need exists for you to wear an ankle monitor due to the ‘immediate danger to society the offender poses based upon a substantial risk of perpetrating a future dangerous sexual offense.’ then here they come as well with that ankle monitor.

As the DOJ states, “Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor (persons less than 18 years old).  Images of child pornography are also referred to as child sexual abuse images.  Federal law prohibits the production, distribution, importation, reception, or possession of any image of child pornography.   A violation of federal child pornography laws is a serious crime, and convicted offenders face fines severe statutory penalties.”

Below are the federal statutes that address child pornography.

18 U.S.C. §2252 – Child pornography;

This past week, Conaway & Strickler’s Meg Strickler and her associate tried a capital case in Fulton County Superior Court.  Our client was facing life in prison.  Ms. Strickler was able to secure a NOT GUILTY verdict. The jury deliberated just 30 minutes.

not-guilty-300x169-1

Police have an obligation to investigate all accusations. However, when accusations involve claims of sexual assault, it may not always be easy for authorities to gain sufficient evidence to gain a conviction. Although details of an alleged incident between two students at a private school are unclear, police have recently arrested a private school student in Georgia and charged him with rape.

According to reports, the alleged victim sought treatment at a hospital. Hospital staff then contacted police. Police say that an investigation — including interviews with the victim as well as other parties — led them to believe that there is probable cause to make an arrest and file charges.

The accuser and the defendant reportedly attend the same private school. Police say that they do not believe that the reported attack was random but that both parties knew each other. They also claim that they do not believe that there are other victims. The 18-year-old defendant, currently in jail, is charged with statutory rape and rape.

Many people convicted as sex offenders in Georgia spend extended time in prison and are then released back into public life. The law requires that such persons be categorized as to the severity of the crime they committed and their likelihood to re-offend. Those listed in category three, the highest group for the worst sex crimes, must register as offenders for the rest of their lives, and they must also wear tracking devices on their ankles.

Many may be surprised to learn that people (who have already served their full sentences) wearing ankle monitors post-prison are required to pay for the devices. The entire topic is being hotly debated in a Georgia Supreme Court. One justice said it is unfair to place that financial burden on someone who has already fulfilled the sentence for the crime committed. He noted that even a few dollars a day adds up to more per year than many people are able to afford.

Another surprising detail regarding ankle monitors worn by past offenders in this state is that if they remove them or do not wear them, there is no legal consequence. In other words, the state says the devices are meant to help authorities keep track of past offenders but are not punitive in any way. As such, some say the requirement is unconstitutional. One man who was fitted with a device then moved to another county where authorities chose not to make him wear it.

Sex crimes: Serving one’s community in the capacity of a city council member is considered by many to be a worthwhile endeavor. Being accused of criminal wrongdoing while serving on a council, however, may not only ruin a person’s reputation but also cause immediate and long-lasting consequences, even before the court addresses the situation. A 53-year-old man in Georgia is facing such charges for alleged sex crimes he committed with a teenage girl.

The council member is suspected of having had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl. Authorities claim the relationship has been ongoing since the girl was age 13. Her mother is said to have reported the relationship between her daughter and the man to police.

For additional blogs, click here.

A martial arts instructor in Georgia has been accused of sex crimes. The child molestation allegations have apparently pitted members of the community against one another. Some have rallied around him in defense of his good character and presumed innocence, while others have stated they believe the accusations are true.

The man has reportedly been teaching Taekwondo for at least 30 years. The recent allegations involve claims that he acted inappropriately with a 15-year-old boy at his apartment. The martial arts instructor stated he was merely practicing a particular self-defense move and that absolutely no crime took place.

After word of the recent accusations spread throughout the man’s community, another supposed allegation surfaced. This situation involved a woman who said the same instructor did something inappropriate to her when he was in his twenties and she was his martial arts student. The instructor is currently age 59.

A supervisor who was apparently working for Georgia Institute of Technology is now facing criminal charges related to illicit sexual behavior. The man is accused of sex crimes in connection with two supposed incidents that are said to have taken place in a student dormitory. The 52-year-old man was arrested on June 22, 2016.

Two days earlier, an unnamed person accused the supervisor of sexually harassing a female employee. The supposed incidents took place on two separate occasions earlier in June. The defendant was employed as the Senior Director of Housing Facilities Management at the university at the time the alleged acts occurred.

Sex Crimes: A spokesperson for Georgia Tech announced that the man was arrested and charged with sexual battery and aggravated sexual battery. At the time of this writing, he remained in police custody at a county jail. The university has placed him on administrative leave.

Various incidents have occurred in Georgia in recent years that involve inappropriate sex acts against children. One recent case has apparently led to a Southwest mayor being indicted on charges of sex crimes. The 26-year-old mayor was reportedly elected to his position in 2012.

The politician now faces several serious sex offense charges regarding his alleged sexual involvement with minors. Aggravated sodomy and rape are among the allegations against the man. Bond has been set at $50,000

The mayor is currently being held in jail in Terrell County. Authorities seem to have become alerted to his possible sexual offenses during another man’s court trial. That 51-year-old man was convicted and sentenced to serve eight life sentences.

Contact Information