Many forms of lewd or lascivious conduct can be charged under the laws of the State of Florida. Lewd or lascivious battery can be charged if a person engages in "sexual activity" with a child 12 years of age or older, but under the age of 16. Unlike sexual battery, consent is NOT a defense to lewd or lascivious battery. In fact, under the law, a victim's intentional misrepresentation of their age is not even a defense.
What better person to analyze and find weaknesses in the State's case than the person who used to prosecute them?
Lewd or lascivious battery is a second degree felony punishable by 15 years in prison. The Tampa criminal defense attorneys at Taracks & Associates are former prosecutors that have handled hundreds of sex offense cases. We also have a former lead trial attorney from the Sex Offender Division of the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office ready to handle your case.
Lewd or lascivious molestation is when a person intentionally touches in a lewd or lascivious manner the breasts, genitals, genital area, or buttocks, or the clothing covering them, of a person less than 16 years of age, or forces or entices a person under 16 years of age to so touch the perpetrator. Here in Tampa many of the cases involving children that are investigated by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and Tampa Police Department deal with lewd or lascivious molestation.
As in all lewd or lascivious offenses, consent is NOT a defense and even if a victim intentionally misrepresents their age that will not be a defense to the crime.
The penalties for committing lewd or lascivious molestation vary depending on the age of the victim and age of defendant at the time of the offense, as well as any injuries sustained by the victim during the offense. Possible sentences range from life in prison to 15 years in prison as well as sex offender probation.
Lewd or lascivious exhibition occurs when a defendant intentionally masturbates or exposes his or her genitals in a lewd or lascivious manner in the presence of a victim under the age of 16. There is no physical or sexual contact required with this offense. All that is required is that the act be performed in the presence of a child under 16 and that the child has the ability to witness the act. If an offender is over the age of 18 he or she is facing a second degree felony while someone under the age of 18 is facing a third degree felony.
Lewd or lascivious offenses carry serious implications. Being sentenced to prison and being labeled a sex offender or predator are terrible consequences. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and Tampa Police Department have specific units with specially trained detectives investigating these crimes.
Shouldn't you have an attorney who has extensive experience in this specialized area of sex crimes to represent you?
If you are under investigation for, or have been arrested and charged with a lewd and lascivious offense here in Tampa, contact Taracks & Associates immediately. Let us use our extensive experience in handling sex cases to help protect your rights and defend your case.