Being accused of child molest or other sex crimes involving children is probably one of the scariest things a person could face. Not only are you terrified of losing your family and your good name there is the possibility of going to prison and the stigma could follow you for the rest of your life. I defend a lot of people who are accused of different kinds of sex crimes. Often times I start working on their case before charges have been filed. Sometimes we are able to persuade law enforcement not to file charges. Other times charges are filed and we have to defend against them in court. In either instance my clients and I often face the same battle, dealing with misconceptions.
I was doing some research on a case the other day and came across an Op ED piece that ran in the New York Times last month about misconceptions pertaining to pedophilia. The article is a good read and worth your time. The comments on the article prove the author’s point – people truly do not understand the difference between being a pedophile and being a child molester. A link to this article is below.
