Words cannot express how grateful I am to you... - Wendy C.

Los Angeles Child Molestation Defense Lawyers

Arrested for lewd acts with a minor?

Under California law, child molestation is prosecuted under §288(a) of the Penal Code and is often referred to as lewd acts with a minor under the age of fourteen. This is considered to be a felony offense and carries with it penalties that range up to eight years in state prison, as well as mandatory registration as a sex offender. For a crime of this nature to be convicted, there are certain "elements" that must be successfully proven – namely, it must be proven that the defendant had willfully touched the child or had caused the child to touch them and that they had done so with the clear intentions of arousing or gratifying sexual desires.

Defending Against Charges of Child Molestation

It is important to recognize that for child molestation, the touching of the child does not even need to be against bare skin – if it can be proven that the defendant touched the child through his or her clothing, it can still be classified as a lewd act. Unfortunately, crimes of this nature can often result in false accusations which can not only result in immediate criminal penalties, but also the life-long stigma of having that blemish on your criminal record. This can cause severe difficulties in not only your personal life, but your professional life as well.

Sex crimes already have an incredible stigma attached to them - due to their often violent nature and the invasive way that they affect victims, they are viewed as some of the most heinous crimes that can possibly be committed. This is never truer than when considering a sexual crime committed against a child such as child molestation or child pornography. Children are viewed as exceptionally innocent creatures - sexually based crimes against them are seen as acts that take advantage of that and are therefore relentlessly pursued by law enforcement and prosecutors alike.

Child Molestation Charges: Tireless Defense

For this reason, if you have recently been accused of something of this nature, it is vastly important that you do not hesitate to secure aggressive legal representation from a criminal defense lawyer that you can count on. At Takakjian & Sitkoff, our legal team is uniquely composed of knowledgeable, hard-hitting lawyers who know the ins and outs of the court process. We will do everything that we can to find strong evidence to build a defense on your behalf – utilizing forensic evidence, witnesses, as well as evidence gathered from texts, emails and phone records.

Our firm is led by two attorneys who were former sex crimes prosecutors – one of whom was actually head of the sex crimes unit. This was invaluable experience that led to him handling cases throughout the Los Angeles Superior Court system, as well as serving as an instructor to Santa Monica and Torrance police departments. He has even trained medical facility staff, as well as the staff at rape and domestic violence shelters in how to properly gather evidence in sex crime investigations. This is the kind of full-bodied experience that you need on your side if you are facing crimes of this nature.

If you choose to work with a lawyer from their firm, you can trust that you will be given more than the average, run-of-the-mill legal aid. Instead, you will be given ruthless tenacious support to help you fight for your future - no matter if you are currently fighting to get the charges reduced, get them dismissed or win a successful verdict in trial. From the very beginning of our working relationship, you will be able to trust that we will never give anything less than our absolute best efforts. We understand the need for forceful defense and will therefore fight tooth and nail to ensure that your best interests are protected in every way possible.