Defending Juveniles Charged With Sex Crimes in Wisconsin
At LeBell, Dobroski and Morgan, our attorneys represent people under 18 who are charged with the same serious sex offenses that adults face. If you're the parent of a juvenile accused of a sex crime in Wisconsin, contact our office in Milwaukee for a free consultation about your legal options.
Call 414-276-1233 for a Free Consultation About Juvenile Defense
Whether the specific offense in your situation involves a sex crime with a child, sexual assault or statutory rape based on the age difference between underage participants, the risks faced by the youthful defendant are similar to those faced by adults, including exposure to sex offender registration obligations and even civil commitment after the completion of a sentence. Our goal is to meet the demands of the immediate criminal defense problem while protecting your child's long-range interests to the greatest extent possible.
In some situations, we can aim for diversion from the criminal justice system, thereby steering the case toward community-based treatment and eventual expungement of the sex offense from the young person's record. In other cases, we'll mount a comprehensive defense to the criminal charges while going to work immediately on the sentencing mitigation factors that will ultimately determine the long-term future of the juvenile defendant.
Juvenile Sex Crime Defense Depends on Effective Collaboration With Experts
Here's where juvenile and adult sex crime cases diverge: the scientific literature that dominates sex offender evaluation and treatment in the sentencing and risk assessment stages before and after conviction is far more developed and dependable for adult offenders than it is for younger people. In other words, it's very difficult to assess the risk that a juvenile sex offender represents a continuing danger to the general public or a particular class of potential victims.
We take care to select the forensic experts whose past work in the field of sex offender risk assessment qualifies them to comment usefully on any prosecution attempt to label your child as a candidate for sex offender registration or for civil commitment after the completion of any treatment or jail time for the immediate offense.
Milwaukee criminal defense lawyer Robert LeBell holds the AV Preeminent* rating under Martindale-Hubbell's peer review system. With more than 35 years of experience on behalf of people charged with serious crimes, his focus on sex crime defense since the mid-1990s has kept him current with the legal, political and scientific aspects of client service in this area.
To learn how this experience can benefit a young person exposed to lifelong consequences for a sex offense in Wisconsin, contact LeBell, Dobroski and Morgan in Milwaukee for a free consultation.
*AV Preeminent and BV Distinguished are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.
