Friday, July 25, 2008


Massachusetts Sex Offense/Sex Crime Defense

  

MASSACHUSETTS SEX CRIMES DEFENSE ATTORNEYS

DEFEND CLIENTS CHARGED WITH SEX OFFENSES IN MASSACHUSETTS

The following are some of the sex crimes, the sex offense defense lawyers at SRIS, P.C. regularly represent their clients who are charged with:

  • Sexual assault
  • Possession or distribution of child pornography
  • Human trafficking for sex
  • Internet Sex Crimes against minors

We have an office in Boston, Massachusetts to better serve you. Contact a SRIS, P.C. Massachusetts sex crimes defense lawyer by e-mail, contact us on line or call toll-free: 888-437-7747

To obtain a general overview of sex offense or sex crime defense, please click here.

To learn more about the laws pertaining to sex offense or sex crime defense in Virginia or Maryland, please click on the state.

Leave no stone unturned to avoid CONVICTION

The Massachusetts Courts are sentencing individuals convicted of a sex crimes. A conviction of a sex crime is only the beginning. Next comes, more often than not, a lengthy period of incarceration. After you are released from prison, you will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of your life.

At the Law Offices of SRIS, P.C., our very first step is to discuss with you, your options. We will first and foremost work towards proving your innocence. We will also consider what steps can be taken to portray you in the best light possible to the Courts and to the public. We will encourage you to seek treatment if we think that will assist in your defense. The Massachusetts sex offense attorneys work closely with sex offender therapists to uncover any mitigating factors on behalf of our clients.

Global Sex Crimes Prosecution.

Thanks to the internet, the world is getting smaller by the day. The trafficking of women for sex or servitude and trafficking of children is more aggressively prosecuted now more than ever. Business that are engaging in internet advertising of mail order brides are now being target by both the federal and Massachusetts State government. The prosecution is actively targeting any business they believe are engaging in sex slavery.

Also, the proliferation of child pornography images over the internet is a major concern for both the federal and Massachusetts State prosecutors. Therefore, it is critical to retain a sex crimes attorney who is competent and knowledgeable about computers and the internet.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE:
101 Federal Street, Suite 1900
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
Phone: 888-437-7747

The following are some of the Sex Offense Laws in the State of Massachusetts. Click on any one of these topics to learn more about them.

SEX OFFENSE LAWS

Section 14. Adultery (top)

Section 14. A married person who has sexual intercourse with a person not his spouse or an unmarried person who has sexual intercourse with a married person shall be guilty of adultery and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years or in jail for not more than two years or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars.

Section 15. Polygamy (top)

Section 15. Whoever, having a former husband or wife living, marries another person or continues to cohabit with a second husband or wife in the commonwealth shall be guilty of polygamy, and be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in jail for not more than two and one half years or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars; but this section shall not apply to a person whose husband or wife has continually remained beyond sea, or has voluntarily withdrawn from the other and remained absent, for seven consecutive years, the party marrying again not knowing the other to be living within that time, nor to a person who has been legally divorced from the bonds of matrimony.

Section 16. Open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior (top)

Section 16. A man or woman, married or unmarried, who is guilty of open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years or in jail for not more than two years or by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars.

Section 17. Incestuous marriage or sexual activities (top)

Section 17. Persons within degrees of consanguinity within which marriages are prohibited or declared by law to be incestuous and void, who intermarry or have sexual intercourse with each other, or who engage in sexual activities with each other, including but not limited to, oral or anal intercourse, fellatio, cunnilingus, or other penetration of a part of a person's body, or insertion of an object into the genital or anal opening of another person's body, or the manual manipulation of the genitalia of another person's body, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 20 years or in the house of correction for not more than 21/2 years.

Section 18. Fornication (top)

Section 18. Whoever commits fornication shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than three months or by a fine of not more than thirty dollars.

Section 28. Matter harmful to minors, dissemination; possession; defenses (top)

Section 28. Whoever disseminates to a minor any matter harmful to minors, as defined in section thirty-one, knowing it to be harmful to minors, or has in his possession any such matter with the intent to disseminate the same to minors, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in a jail or house of correction for not more than two and one-half years, or by a fine of not less than one thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars for the first offense, not less than five thousand nor more than twenty thousand dollars for the second offense, or not less than ten thousand nor more than thirty thousand dollars for the third and subsequent offenses, or by both such fine and imprisonment. A prosecution commenced under this section shall not be continued without a finding nor placed on file. It shall be a defense in any prosecution under this section that the defendant was in a parental or guardianship relationship with the minor. It shall also be a defense in any prosecution under this section if the evidence proves that the defendant was a bona fide school, museum or library, or was acting in the course of his employment as an employee of such organization or of a retail outlet affiliated with and serving the educational purpose of such organization.

Section 29. Dissemination or possession of obscene matter; punishment; defense (top)

Section 29. Whoever disseminates any matter which is obscene, knowing it to be obscene, or whoever has in his possession any matter which is obscene, knowing it to be obscene, with the intent to disseminate the same, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in a jail or house of correction for not more than two and one-half years or by a fine of not less than one thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars for the first offense, not less than five thousand nor more than twenty thousand dollars for the second offense, or not less than ten thousand nor more than thirty thousand dollars for the third and subsequent offenses, or by both such fine and imprisonment. A prosecution commenced under this section shall not be continued without a finding nor placed on file. It shall be a defense under this section if the evidence proves that the defendant was a bona fide school, museum or library, or was acting in the course of his employment as an employee of such organization or of a retail outlet affiliated with and serving the educational purpose of such organization.

Section 29A. Posing or exhibiting child in state of nudity or sexual conduct; punishment (top)

Section 29A. (a) Whoever, either with knowledge that a person is a child under eighteen years of age or while in possession of such facts that he should have reason to know that such person is a child under eighteen years of age, and with lascivious intent, hires, coerces, solicits or entices, employs, procures, uses, causes, encourages, or knowingly permits such child to pose or be exhibited in a state of nudity, for the purpose of representation or reproduction in any visual material, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than ten nor more than twenty years, or by a fine of not less than ten thousand nor more than fifty thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(b) Whoever, either with knowledge that a person is a child under eighteen years of age or while in possession of such facts that he should have reason to know that such person is a child under eighteen years of age, hires, coerces, solicits or entices, employs, procures, uses, causes, encourages, or knowingly permits such child to participate or engage in any act that depicts, describes, or represents sexual conduct for the purpose of representation or reproduction in any visual material, or to engage in any live performance involving sexual conduct, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than ten nor more than twenty years, or by a fine of not less than ten thousand nor more than fifty thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(c) In a prosecution under this section, a minor shall be deemed incapable of consenting to any conduct of the defendant for which said defendant is being prosecuted.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the determination whether the person in any visual material prohibited hereunder is under eighteen years of age may be made by the personal testimony of such person, by the testimony of a person who produced, processed, published, printed or manufactured such visual material that the child therein was known to him to be under eighteen years of age, or by expert medical testimony as to the age of the person based upon the person's physical appearance, by inspection of the visual material, or by any other method authorized by any general or special law or by any applicable rule of evidence.

Section 29B. Dissemination of visual material of child in state of nudity or sexual conduct; punishment (top)

Section 29B. (a) Whoever, with lascivious intent, disseminates any visual material that contains a representation or reproduction of any posture or exhibition in a state of nudity involving the use of a child who is under eighteen years of age, knowing the contents of such visual material or having sufficient facts in his possession to have knowledge of the contents thereof, or has in his possession any such visual material knowing the contents or having sufficient facts in his possession to have knowledge of the contents thereof, with the intent to disseminate the same, shall be punished in the state prison for a term of not less than ten nor more than twenty years or by a fine of not less than ten thousand nor more than fifty thousand dollars or three times the monetary value of any economic gain derived from said dissemination, whichever is greater, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(b) Whoever with lascivious intent disseminates any visual material that contains a representation or reproduction of any act that depicts, describes, or represents sexual conduct participated or engaged in by a child who is under eighteen years of age, knowing the contents of such visual material or having sufficient facts in his possession to have knowledge of the contents thereof, or whoever has in his possession any such visual material knowing the contents or having sufficient facts in his possession to have knowledge of the contents thereof, with the intent to disseminate the same, shall be punished in the state prison for a term of not less than ten nor more than twenty years or by a fine of not less than ten thousand nor more than fifty thousand dollars or three times the monetary value of any economic gain derived from said dissemination, whichever is greater, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the determination whether the child in any visual material prohibited hereunder is under eighteen years of age may be made by the personal testimony of such child, by the testimony of a person who produced, processed, published, printed or manufactured such visual material that the child therein was known to him to be under eighteen years of age, by testimony of a person who observed the visual material, or by expert medical testimony as to the age of the child based upon the child's physical appearance, by inspection of the visual material, or by any other method authorized by any general or special law or by any applicable rule of evidence.
(d) In a prosecution under this section, a minor shall be deemed incapable of consenting to any conduct of the defendant for which said defendant is being prosecuted.
(e) Pursuant to this section, proof that dissemination of any visual material that contains a representation or reproduction of sexual conduct or of any posture or exhibition in a state of nudity involving the use of a child who is under eighteen years of age was for a bona fide scientific, medical, or educational purpose for a bona fide school, museum, or library may be considered as evidence of a lack of lascivious intent.

Section 29C. Knowing purchase or possession of visual material of child depicted in sexual conduct; punishment (top)

Section 29C. Whoever knowingly purchases or possesses a negative, slide, book, magazine, film, videotape, photograph or other similar visual reproduction, or depiction by computer, of any child whom the person knows or reasonably should know to be under the age of 18 years of age and such child is:
(i) actually or by simulation engaged in any act of sexual intercourse with any person or animal;
(ii) actually or by simulation engaged in any act of sexual contact involving the sex organs of the child and the mouth, anus or sex organs of the child and the sex organs of another person or animal;
(iii) actually or by simulation engaged in any act of masturbation;
(iv) actually or by simulation portrayed as being the object of, or otherwise engaged in, any act of lewd fondling, touching, or caressing involving another person or animal;
(v) actually or by simulation engaged in any act of excretion or urination within a sexual context;
(vi) actually or by simulation portrayed or depicted as bound, fettered, or subject to sadistic, masochistic, or sadomasochistic abuse in any sexual context; or
(vii) depicted or portrayed in any pose, posture or setting involving a lewd exhibition of the unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks or, if such person is female, a fully or partially developed breast of the child; with knowledge of the nature or content thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in a jail or house of correction for not more than two and one-half years or by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment for the first offense, not less than five years in a state prison or by a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $20,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment for the second offense, not less than 10 years in a state prison or by a fine of not less than $10,000 nor more than $30,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment for the third and subsequent offenses.
A prosecution commenced under this section shall not be continued without a finding nor placed on file.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to a law enforcement officer, licensed physician, licensed psychologist, attorney or officer of the court who is in possession of such materials in the lawful performance of his official duty. Nor shall the provisions of this section apply to an employee of a bona fide enterprise, the purpose of which enterprise is to filter or otherwise restrict access to such materials, who possesses examples of computer depictions of such material for the purposes of furthering the legitimate goals of such enterprise.

Section 30. Injunctive relief against dissemination of obscene matter; jurisdiction; procedures; appeal (top)

Section 30. The superior court shall have jurisdiction to enjoin the dissemination of any matter which is obscene. The attorney general or a district attorney within his district may request an injunction against any person, firm, or corporation which disseminates or is about to disseminate any matter which is obscene.
The person, firm, or corporation sought to be enjoined shall be entitled to a trial on the merits within one day after filing of responsive pleadings and a decision shall be rendered by the court within two days of the conclusion of the trial.
A justice of the superior court may issue a preliminary injunction pending the trial on the merits against such person, firm, or corporation which disseminates or is about to disseminate any matter which is obscene.
No preliminary injunction shall be issued without notice to the adverse party.
In any action brought as herein provided the attorney general or a district attorney shall not be required to furnish security before the issuance of any injunction provided for in this section and neither the commonwealth nor any county, shall be liable for costs or for damages sustained by reason of the injunction in cases where judgment is rendered in favor of the person, firm, or corporation sought to be enjoined.
If the court finds that the person, firm, or corporation is disseminating or is about to disseminate any obscene matter, it shall issue a permanent injunction prohibiting the dissemination of that matter. The court's order shall direct the person, firm or corporation to surrender to a sheriff or a police officer the matter found obscene and a sheriff or police officer shall be directed to seize and destroy the same.
Appeals shall be as otherwise provided by law in civil proceedings, but any party or intervenor shall have the right to an expedited appeal to the appeals court.
The procedures set forth in this section are in addition to criminal proceedings initiated under any provisions of the General Laws, and not a condition precedent thereto.

Section 30D. Dissemination of visual material of child in state of nudity or sexual conduct; injunction; jurisdiction (top)

Section 30D. The superior court shall also have jurisdiction to enjoin the dissemination of any visual material that contains a representation or reproduction of any posture or exhibition in a state of nudity or of any act that depicts, describes, or represents sexual conduct participated or engaged in by a child who is under eighteen years of age. The procedures for issuance of such injunction shall be the same as those provided in section thirty, and are in addition to other criminal proceedings initiated under any provisions of the General Laws, and not a condition precedent thereto.

Section 31. Definitions (top)

Section 31. As used in sections twenty-eight, twenty-eight C, twenty-eight D, twenty-eight E, twenty-nine, twenty-nine A, twenty-nine B, thirty and thirty D, the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:—
“Disseminate”, to import, publish, produce, print, manufacture, distribute, sell, lease, exhibit or display.
“Harmful to minors”, matter is harmful to minors if it is obscene or, if taken as a whole, it (1) describes or represents nudity, sexual conduct or sexual excitement, so as to appeal predominantly to the prurient interest of minors; (2) is patently contrary to prevailing standards of adults in the county where the offense was committed as to suitable material for such minors; and (3) lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors.
“Knowing”, a general awareness of the character of the matter.
“Lascivious intent”, a state of mind in which the sexual gratification or arousal of any person is an objective. For the purposes of prosecution under this chapter, proof of lascivious intent may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(1) whether the circumstances include sexual behavior, sexual relations, infamous conduct of a lustful or obscene nature, deviation from accepted customs and manners, or sexually oriented displays;
(2) whether the focal point of a visual depiction is the child's genitalia, pubic area, or breast area of a female child;
(3) whether the setting or pose of a visual depiction is generally associated with sexual activity;
(4) whether the child is depicted in an unnatural pose or inappropriate attire, considering the child's age;
(5) whether the depiction denotes sexual suggestiveness or a willingness to engage in sexual activity;
(6) whether the depiction is of a child engaging in or being engaged in sexual conduct, including, but not limited to, sexual intercourse, unnatural sexual intercourse, bestiality, masturbation, sado-masochistic behavior, or lewd exhibition of the genitals.
“Minor”, a person under eighteen years of age.
“Nudity”, uncovered or less than opaquely covered human genitals, pubic areas, the human female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola, or the covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state. For purposes of this definition, a female breast is considered uncovered if the nipple or areola only are covered.
“Matter”, any handwritten or printed material, visual representation, live performance or sound recording including but not limited to, books, magazines, motion picture films, pamphlets, phonographic records, pictures, photographs, figures, statues, plays, dances.
“Performance”, any play, dance, exhibit, or such similar activity performed before one or more persons.
“Obscene”, matter is obscene if taken as a whole it
(1) appeals to the prurient interest of the average person applying the contemporary standards of the county where the offense was committed;
(2) depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and
(3) lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
“Sexual conduct”, human masturbation, sexual intercourse, actual or simulated, normal or perverted, any lewd exhibitions of the genitals, flagellation or torture in the context of a sexual relationship, any lewd touching of the genitals, pubic areas, or buttocks of the human male or female, or the breasts of the female, whether alone or between members of the same or opposite sex or between humans and animals, and any depiction or representation of excretory functions in the context of a sexual relationship. Sexual intercourse is simulated when it depicts explicit sexual intercourse which gives the appearance of the consummation of sexual intercourse, normal or perverted.
“Sexual excitement”, the condition of human male or female genitals or the breasts of the female while in a state of sexual stimulation or the sensual experiences of humans engaging in or witnessing sexual conduct or nudity.
“Visual material”, any motion picture film, picture, photograph, videotape, book, magazine, pamphlet that contains pictures, photographs or similar visual representations or reproductions, or depiction by computer. Undeveloped photographs, pictures, motion picture films, videotapes and similar visual representations or reproductions may be visual materials notwithstanding that processing, development or similar acts may be required to make the contents thereof apparent.

Section 34. Crime against nature (top)

Section 34. Whoever commits the abominable and detestable crime against nature, either with mankind or with a beast, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than twenty years.

Section 35. Unnatural and lascivious acts (top)

Section 35. Whoever commits any unnatural and lascivious act with another person shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in jail or the house of correction for not more than two and one half years.

Section 35A. Unnatural and lascivious acts with child under 16 (top)

Section 35A. Whoever commits any unnatural and lascivious act with a child under the age of sixteen shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in jail or the house of correction for not more than two and one half years, and whoever over the age of eighteen commits a second or subsequent such offence shall be sentenced to imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than five years.

Our sex crimes defense attorneys and staff in Boston, Massachusetts speak the following languages in addition to English: Spanish, French, Arabic, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Cantonese, Mandarin & Malaysian.

The Massachusetts (MA) attorneys of SRIS, P.C. represent clients with criminal, divorce & OUI throughout Massachusetts, including but not limited to:

City of Boston, Greater Boston, Essex County, Middlesex County, Norfolk County, Plymouth County

People refer to Massachusetts as Mass also.