Bergen County Sex Crime Lawyer

Bergen County Sex Crime Lawyer

You’ve been arrested for a sex crime in Bergen County. Or police contacted you about an investigation. Maybe you’re facing charges for sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, or criminal sexual contact. You’re terrified about prison, sex offender registration, and what happens to your life. Here’s what actually happens next in Bergen County – and what choices you have when Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella’s office is building a case against you.

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We are a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 40 years of combined experience defending clients when the charges are serious and public opinion runs against them. When Todd Spodek defended Anna Delvey, the media had already convicted her. That’s precisely when constitutional protections matter most – and that philosophy extends to every case we handle, including sex crime defense in Bergen County.

This article explains what happens in your situation, what real prison time your facing, and what choices you have at each stage. We’ve defended clients in Bergen County who faced these exact charges. Here’s what we know about what you’re up against.

What Happens in the First 48 Hours

When Bergen County police arrest you for a sex crime, they take you to Bergen County Jail for processing. Within 24 to 48 hours, you’ll have a first appearance before a judge. That hearing determines whether you’re held in jail or released pending trial – and those first 48 hours shape everything that follows in your case. Before that first appearance, police will attempt to interrogate you. They’ll tell you that cooperating helps your case, that explaining your side makes things better, that honesty works in your favor. That’s false. Anything you say to police becomes evidence the prosecutor uses against you at trial. Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office has specialized Sexual Investigations Units with decades of experience. They know how to use your statements against you, even when you think you’re clarifying a misunderstanding.

Consider this: In October 2025 alone, Prosecutor Musella’s office arrested multiple individuals for aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse material possession. One case involved a North Bergen man charged with sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief. Another involved a juvenile arrested for possessing 1,751 items of child sexual abuse material. Notice the pattern – prosecutors stack charges. What you think is one incident becomes four separate charges, each carrying separate prison time.

Your choice in those first hours: talk to police and give them ammunition, or invoke your right to remain silent and demand counsel. The Constitution gives you that right for a reason. When prosecutors have the power to charge you with multiple counts and leverage mandatory minimums, your Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination isn’t a technicality – it’s your first line of defense.

The Prison Time Your Actually Facing

First-degree aggravated sexual assault carries 25 years to life in prison. Not “up to 25 years.” You must serve a mandatory minimum of 25 years before you’re even eligible for parole consideration. The judge has no discretion to go lower. That’s what mandatory minimums do – they eliminate judicial discretion and give prosecutors coercive leverage.

Second-degree sexual assault carries 5 to 10 years in prison, with fines up to $150,000. Third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact carries up to 5 years. Fourth-degree criminal sexual contact carries up to 18 months. These might sound like “lesser” charges, but understand what they mean: You’re still going to prison, you’re still registering as a sex offender, and you’re still under parole supervision for life.

Then there’s the No Early Release Act. For sex crime convictions in New Jersey, you must serve at least 85% of your sentence before parole eligibility. That means a 10-year sentence = 8.5 years minimum served. Not 5 years with good behavior. Eighty-five percent, minimum. And when you’re released? Megan’s Law registration is mandatory for most sex offense convictions. Your name, photograph, address, and offense appear on the public sex offender registry. Parole supervision for life. Employment restrictions. Housing restrictions. No expungement – ever. Sexual assault convictions cannot be expunged under New Jersey law, which means the conviction stays on your record permanently.

The Mandatory Minimum Problem

Mandatory minimum sentences represent one of the most profound failures of American criminal justice. When legislatures eliminated judicial discretion, they gave prosecutors coercive power. A Bergen County prosecutor can threaten you with 25 years mandatory if you go to trial, then offer you 7 years if you plead guilty. That’s not justice – that’s extortion legitimized by statute.

Your Choices When They Offer a Plea

Most sex crime cases in Bergen County resolve through plea deals, not trials. That’s the reality. But understanding when to reject a plea and fight determines whether you serve 2 years or 20.

The first plea offer from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office is usually harsh. They offer you a deal designed to avoid trial work, not to reflect the actual strength of their case. If they’re offering you 7 years on a second-degree charge when the maximum is 10, that might sound generous. But it also signals they’re worried about taking the case to trial. Prosecutors don’t offer “deals” out of kindness – they offer deals when going to trial involves risk.

When should you reject the plea and go to trial? When the prosecution’s case has weaknesses. Credibility issues with the alleged victim. Consent questions that create reasonable doubt. Evidence problems – maybe police violated your Fourth Amendment rights during the search, or witness statements contradict each other. Those are cases where your Sixth Amendment right to trial isn’t just a constitutional formality – it’s your best defense against wrongful conviction. But going to trial involves risk. If you lose, judges typically sentence you more harshly than if you’d accepted the plea. That’s called the “trial penalty,” and while judges deny it exists, defense attorneys see it in every courtroom.

This is where having a former prosecutor on your defense team matters. They understand how Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office evaluates cases. They know which assistant prosecutors will negotiate in good faith and which ones won’t. They recognize when a plea offer signals genuine strength versus prosecutorial bluffing. At Spodek Law Group, we’ve defended clients in situations where other attorneys pressured them to plead guilty, and we’ve won cases that others said were unwinnable.

Why This Requires Specialized Defense

Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella runs specialized Sexual Investigations Units staffed with prosecutors who have spent decades building sex crime cases. Look at the October 2025 cases. Prosecutors charged a juvenile with possession of 1,751 separate items of child sexual abuse material. They didn’t charge him with “possessing child pornography.” They counted every single image and video as a separate offense. That’s 1,751 charges. Most defendants don’t realize prosecutors do this until they’re looking at an indictment that’s 50 pages long.

Or take the North Bergen case – sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, resisting arrest, criminal mischief. Five separate charges from what might have been one incident. That’s strategic charging designed to increase prison exposure and create plea leverage.

Sex crime defense also requires understanding Megan’s Law implications. Not all sex offenses trigger the same registration requirements. Some require Tier 1 registration. Others require Tier 3. The tier affects where you can live, where you can work, and how often you must report to police. A lawyer who doesn’t understand these distinctions can’t properly evaluate whether a plea offer is reasonable or exploitative. At Spodek Law Group, we represent clients when the charges are serious and public opinion runs hostile. Todd Spodek defended Anna Delvey when the media had already rendered its verdict. We handled the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct case when national headlines focused on the outcome. That willingness to defend unpopular clients isn’t just good lawyering – it’s constitutional obligation. Everyone deserves vigorous advocacy, especially when they’re universally condemned. When you’re facing sex crime charges in Bergen County, that principle isn’t abstract philosophy. It’s the difference between accepting a coercive plea and fighting for a just outcome. We’re available 24/7 at 212-300-5196 if your facing charges and need someone who understands what you’re up against.