When the accusation is sexual, everything about a Queens case gets heavier at once, because felony sex charges are handled by the DA's Special Victims Bureau, the top counts carry violent-felony classes under Penal Law 70.02, and a conviction can bring you under the Sex Offender Registration Act in Correction Law section 168. Spodek Law Group P.C. defends people accused of these offenses in Queens Criminal Court and in the Supreme Court at 125-01 Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens. We owe loyalty to only you, and the first conversation is a risk-free consultation where you can ask us anything you want.
How Queens grades a sex offense, from misdemeanor to class B.
Penal Law article 130 runs from sexual abuse in the third degree under 130.55, a class B misdemeanor, through forcible touching under 130.52 and sexual misconduct under 130.20, both class A misdemeanors, up to rape in the third degree under 130.25, which is a class E felony. Rape in the second degree under 130.30 and sexual abuse in the first degree under 130.65 are class D violent felonies, and rape in the first degree under 130.35 is a class B violent felony. Where your case lands on that ladder decides the court, the sentencing range and the registration question, so the first fight is usually over the charge itself.
Special Victims Bureau cases and the Child Advocacy Center.
Felony sex crimes against adults and children go to the Queens DA's Special Victims Bureau, whose senior attorneys are trained in trauma-informed and forensic child interviewing. When a child is involved, the Queens Child Advocacy Center brings ACS, Safe Horizon, a pediatrician affiliated with Cohen Children's and an NYPD detective squad into the same case from the start. Those interviews and medical findings become the backbone of the prosecution, which is why we study how every statement was taken, who was in the room and what the recording or notes actually show before we let the People define the story for the court.
Registration, long probation terms and the sealing problem.
Consequences in these cases reach well past any jail sentence. The Sex Offender Registration Act in Correction Law section 168 can follow a conviction, probation for a felony sexual assault runs ten years under Penal Law 65.00, and even a class A misdemeanor sexual assault carries a six-year probation term. CPL 160.59, which allows some older convictions to be sealed after ten years, excludes sex offenses, so a plea you accept today cannot be cleared through that route later. We weigh every offer against that permanent tail, and you hear the full picture from us before you decide anything.
