Legal Experts Provide Overview On What Defines A Sex Crime In RI As ignorance is seldom an excuse for breaking the law, you must be aware of what your rights are at all times and what constitutes when it comes to breaking the law. In certain cases, it is hard to excuse yourself for not knowing better, but then there are also other types of crimes where your behavior can end up in hot water while you were completely ignorant about the fact that you are breaking the law. Sex crimes fall into the latter category as there are certain deeds that lawmakers will consider punishable and might leave you facing the consequences of legal action.
The team at John Grasso, the prominent practice of sex crime attorneys in RI, helped to bring some clarity to this matter. What they explain is that lawmakers distinguish between sex crimes in the first degree and those in the second degree. When charges against you are for first-degree sex crimes, you will be facing jail time when found guilty as the minimum punishment in the state for this crime category is 10 years imprisonment. These crimes are much easier to distinguish though and include sexual penetration, the application of force or coercion in a sexual demeanor, sexual intercourse with someone who is mentally disabled or incapacitated, intercourse with someone who is physically helpless, touching or caressing of intimate parts of a victim or any other kind of sexual contact. However, it can be harder to distinguish when it comes to second-degree sex crimes. Upon a guilty sentence of such a crime, you can expect a minimum sentence of three years in prison and it can go up to a maximum of 15 years. This would include engaging in sexual contact with another person if the accused is aware of the fact that the other person is mentally incapacitated, disabled, or physically helpless. It also includes cases where there is an element of force, surprise, or coercion involved. Lastly, second-degree sex crimes would entail sexual contact with the victim when the accused engaged in providing medical treatment or even examination with the purpose to enjoy sexual arousal, stimulation, or even gratification. These are not the only ways you can get into trouble with the courts though. Statutory rape is another matter of concern to the state authorities. Any incident when the actor is older than 18 years but the victim is between the ages of 14 and 16 years counts as a second-degree sex crime. Child molestation would be the charge if the minor was younger than 14 years of age and when penetration took place, this would constitute a first-degree sex crime. However, if there were no penetration and only sexual contact while the victim was younger than 14 years it would constitute a second-degree sex crime. These crimes all vary in the severity of the sentencing