Child Sex Crimes

Improper Relationship Between Teacher and Student

An individual may be charged with improper relationship between an educator and student if he or she engages in sexual contact or sexual intercourse with a student at the school in which he or she works, if he or she solicits a student online, and in other circumstances.

Improper relationship between educator and student is a second-degree felony. If convicted, an individual may face fines, imprisonment, mandatory sex offender registration, as well as professional consequences.

Shook & Gunter in Dallas, Texas, defends individuals who have been charged with improper relationship between educator and student and other sex crimes. To schedule a free consultation where you can learn about your specific defense options, please contact our Dallas law firm online.

Defending Educators

When an educator is found guilty of having a sexual relationship with a student, the stakes are high both personally and professionally. Besides criminal penalties that may include imprisonment, an individual may face mandatory sex offender registration and the end of a career as an educator. The social stigma of these allegations can be long-lasting.

Our law firm defends teachers, coaches, school counselors, and other school employees who have been charged with having an improper relationship with a student. These are extremely serious charges that require prompt and aggressive defense. We will apply our skills and experience — along with our unique perspective as former prosecutors — to craft the most powerful defense possible.

Indecency With a Child

In Texas, an individual may be charged with indecency with a child if he or she engages in sexual contact with a child under the age of 17. Charges may also be brought if an individual exposes his or her genitals to the child, or causes the child to do so. Touching a child in a sexual way through his or her clothing can also be classified as indecency with a child.

If you have been accused of any action that constitutes indecency with a child charges, it is critical to take immediate legal action. These are serious charges that can have serious consequences, including imprisonment and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration.

The attorneys at Shook & Gunter defend individuals who have been charged with indecency with a child and other sex crimes against children in Texas. If you are interested in learning how we can help you, please contact our Dallas-based law firm to schedule a free consultation.

Defense Options

We will thoroughly investigate the charges and build your defense case accordingly. Possible defenses to indecency with a child charges include:

• Marriage to individual under the age of 17

• False allegations of sexual contact

• Medical necessity

• Mistaken identity

• Insanity

Sexual Molestation

A sexual molestation charge can change your life and severely impact your family relationships. If convicted, you could face years in prison and be required to register as a sex offender for life. At Shook & Gunter, we will apply proven defense strategies to help people accused of child molestation and other sex crimes. Our accomplished defense lawyers will work to help you minimize the damage to your life and reputation, and to help you avoid the consequences of a child sex crime conviction.

Sexual Molestation Defense Strategies

Under Texas law, child molestation constitutes sexual abuse, misconduct or indecency with a child. The law considers anyone under the age of 17 to be a child. Penalties for all child sex crimes are severe, but can be even stricter depending on the age of the child and if it is proven that the abuse was continual.

We handle a wide range of child sex crime defense cases for clients throughout Texas, including those involving:

• Aggravated sexual assault of a child

• Indecency with a child

• Continuous sexual abuse of a child

• Online solicitation of a child

We will explore all defense strategies to help you pursue a favorable outcome and to protect your reputation. We are skilled at identifying inconsistencies in the alleged victim’s testimony.

We will search for signs that the alleged victim was coerced or coached by parents, law enforcement officials or other parties into testifying against you. As former prosecutors, our attorneys know how to effectively defend our clients against child sex crime charges.

Child Pornography

An individual who is convicted of possessing or distributing child pornography, or creating videos or photos of child pornography, faces extremely harsh penalties that include long-term imprisonment and mandatory lifetime registration as a sex offender. Additionally, the social stigma of sex offender allegations can end careers and ruin families forever. These charges should be taken very seriously.

Shook & Gunter defends clients throughout the Dallas, Texas, area who have been charged with child pornography possession or distribution.

To learn how our firm can help defend you against these serious criminal accusations, please contact our child pornography lawyer today to schedule a free consultation.

Child Pornography Defense Options

There may be many possible defenses to child pornography charges. We will thoroughly investigate the charges against you to determine what those options might be in your case:

• Did anyone else have access to the computer where images or video were found?

• Were the images or videos accidentally downloaded?

• Were the images or videos in questions taken of individuals who were actually 18 or older?

We will ask these and other important questions. Our attorneys are former prosecutors who understand both sides of a child pornography case. We will apply our unique set of skills and experience when building your defense case, with a goal of reducing your criminal charges, reducing the penalties you face or seeking a dismissal.