Expert Defense for Sex Crime Charges in Kansas: Protect Your Rights with Our Skilled Attorneys

Accusations of sexual misconduct are common, and allegations are often more pervasive in college settings. In fact, many students find themselves accused after seemingly consensual sexual encounters.

Facing a sex crime accusation is an incredibly distressing experience, but you need to resist your first instinct to explain yourself to authorities. Even when you know you are innocent of all criminal allegations, you should exercise your right to remain silent and retain legal counsel.

Immediate Repercussions

In the legal world, you are innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, there are no legal repercussions until the case is resolved; however, this doesn’t apply to administrative penalties from schools. Schools have a habit of disciplining students accused of sexual misconduct before they are proven guilty.

This means that innocent students are getting wrongfully expelled. For this reason, any student accused of sexual misconduct should contact an experienced sex crimes attorney as soon as he or she finds out about the accusation!

Contact an Attorney Now

When accused, you’ll want an experienced Kansas City attorney who can aggressively defend you against criminal charges. A sex crimes lawyer can conduct a complete investigation into the incident and help secure the evidence needed to defend your case.

No matter what sex crime you are facing, remember that a prosecutor is required to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the highest legal standard. SRC Law Group, LLC has handled a wide variety of sex offense cases and can help you with yours.

A Utah woman named Till Buchanan is facing three counts of lewdness in front of a child for being topless in her own home in front of her stepchildren.

Each count is a class A misdemeanor in the state, which is punishable by a maximum 364-day jail sentence and fine no more than $2,500. In addition, she could be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

In Kansas, lewd and lascivious behavior in front of a minor who is 16 years old or younger is a class B misdemeanor, which carries a jail sentence of up to six months and a fine not exceeding $1,000.

What Happened?

Buchanan and her husband were installing insulation inside the garage while wearing long-sleeved shirts and protective clothing, causing the couple to sweat, itch, and eventually took of their clothes except for their underwear. After Buchanan removed her top, her three stepchildren—two boys, ages 9 and 13, and a 10-year-old girl—walked into the garage and saw her exposed breasts.

Although the kids were initially embarrassed, Buchanan turned the incident into a teaching moment by explaining they shouldn’t be uncomfortable with seeing her chest since they’re fine with seeing their father’s. However, the children’s biological mother became “alarmed” after learning about the incident and reported it to law enforcement.

Is Utah’s Lewdness Law Unconstitutional?

Buchanan’s lawyer filed a motion in court, requesting a judge to determine if the state’s lewdness law is unconstitutional. His argument heavily relies on a 10th Circuit Court ruling, where the appellate court overturned a topless ban in Ft. Collins, CO, after two women filed a lawsuit against the city for the right to publicly go topless.

The court ruling could affect any potential legal cases in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and even Kansas. Buchanan’s attorney accused the state of attempting to condemn his client for performing the same non-sexual act as her husband.

In response, the prosecution argued the 10th Circuit decision resulted in an injunction that blocked the enforcement of a city ordinance, as opposed to a state’s lewdness law. Furthermore, city attorneys said the lewdness statute doesn’t discriminate against gender.

Buchanan accepted a plea , she admitted to exposing her breasts in front of an adult which 'caused affront or alarm.'

The charge will be dropped after a year as long as she does not commit another crime.

Legal Defenses to Lewdness

There are several defenses a person can raise after being charged with public lewdness. The most common defense is the lack of sexual motivation.

If a person exposes a private part without a sexual motive, he/she cannot be charged with public lewdness. Common examples include breastfeeding or urinating in public, although the latter may result in indecent exposure charges.

Kansas Definition of Stalking
Kansas defines stalking as, “ Recklessly engaging in a course of conduct targeted at a specific person which would cause a reasonable person in the circumstances of the targeted person to fear for such person's safety or the safety of a member of such person’s immediate family.”

As you can see, this definition is relatively vague, but there are a couple of vital components in determining if a string of acts constitute stalking.

• The person has to target someone with messages (electronic or written), verbal communication, or any other thing (following someone, etc.) that fits within a stalking definition.
• These acts must be committed in a manner that would cause any reasonable person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of an immediate family member.
• There must be multiple acts to constitute stalking, as the “course of conduct” is defined as two or more acts over a period of time that evidence a continuity of purpose.

Acts that Constitute Stalking
To better understand what stalking is exactly, we must determine what acts the state of Kansas deems as having the potential to cause fear in a reasonable person.

Acts that fall under the definition of stalking include:

• Threatening the safety of the targeted person or a member of such person's immediate family;
  following, approaching or confronting the targeted person or a member of such person's immediate family;
• appearing in close proximity to, or entering the targeted person's residence, place of employment, school or other places where such person can be found, or the residence, place of employment or school of a member of such person's immediate family;
• causing damage to the targeted person's residence or property or that of a member of such person's immediate family;
• placing an object on the targeted person's property or the property of a member of such person's immediate family, either directly or through a third person;
• causing injury to the targeted person's pet or a pet belonging to a member of such person's immediate family;
• causing injury to the targeted person's pet or a pet belonging to a member of such person's immediate family;
• any act of communication.

As you can see many acts constitute stalking, and if you’re accused of stalking, you’ll want experienced defense on your side.

Internet trend enthusiasts guesstimate that an average of 1.8 billion digital images are uploaded to the World Wide Web every day. Of the billions of photos out there, many of these are shared on social media pages and through messaging platforms. With all these people sharing pictures over text messages and social media, it begs the question about the legality of sharing photos containing other people in the buff. Is it legal to share nude photos of others with friends and social media platforms?

Revenge Porn
As almost everyone has a smartphone nowadays, taking an explicit picture and sending it to a significant other is easier than ever before. The question is: can that significant other than share that picture to other people? To answer this question, we have to look at the phenomenon of “revenge porn.”

Revenge porn is when an ex-spouse or significant other posts nude photos of their ex on the internet. This trend started to become popular over time as more and more people uploaded lewd photos of their past lovers to the internet.

Most people see this as a destructive action, so Kansas government officials decided to act.

Kansas Law HB 2501
In 2016 Governor Sam Brownback signed HB 2501, a law that outlawed the posting of nude photos or videos of a person on the internet without his or her consent in Kansas.

A charge under this law is a serious matter; here are the possible convictions:

• When a person shares a nude photo on the internet without permission, he or she is likely to be charged with a felony conviction of breach of privacy.
• When a person attempts to blackmail someone else with his or her nude photos, the perpetrator is likely to be charged with felony blackmail: a conviction that can result in up to six years in prison.

As you can see, posting nude pictures of someone on the internet without their permission is a serious offense. If you have previously posted nude pictures of someone without their consent, you should immediately take down the post as soon as possible.

However, many people do not know this law and mistakes can happen. If you or a loved one are accused of a breach of privacy or blackmail charge, it is crucial that you hire experienced criminal law counsel as soon as possible.

In today’s world, when two people are involved in an intimate relationship, sharing romantic text messages and other messages can evolve into sharing intimate, sexual images of one another. However, when the relationship heads south, angry partners may sometimes share private photos and videos of their ex—with the purpose of causing embarrassment and shame.

This is known as “revenge porn,” which is defined as sharing images depicting nudity without the consent of the person who was recorded. When private images are made available to the public, the victim can suffer significant damage to their personal life and professional reputation.

So far, there are 37 states that have passed legislation that criminalizes revenge porn, including Kansas and Missouri.

In Kansas, the crime is known as “breach of privacy,” which is defined as knowingly and without consent disseminating any nude or sexual photo, video, or any visual materials of another person who is at least 18 years of age with the intent to harass or intimidate the individual. The crime is a severity level 8 person felony.

In Missouri, a person can be charged for threatening the dissemination of private and sexual photos, videos, and images of another person without consent in order to gain anything of value. The crime is a Class E felony.

Many companies throughout the United States. host holiday parties annually for employers and employees to enjoy and celebrate the festive season, as well as another year of productivity. These parties typically consist of lavish dinners, open bars, and plenty of dancing.

However, many companies in recent years have either limited the number of drinks served at these parties or canceled the annual event entirely. The main reason why is because they want to avoid sexual misconduct allegations that have cost people their jobs and made them subject to criminal charges.

In October 2017, The New York Times and The New Yorker brought to light decades worth of sexual assault and harassment accusations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, forcing him out of the industry and starting the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. Ever since then, men and women from every industry have been inspired to call out powerful people for their inappropriate behavior. Since your company’s next holiday party could get a little wild, you need to be aware of how lighthearted fun could be misinterpreted as something inappropriate or even unlawful.

If your company is throwing a holiday party this year, here are three steps to avoid being accused of a sex crime during the festivities:

1. Keep tabs on how much you drink – If your party has an open bar, be careful not to get too intoxicated enough to loosen your inhabitations, behave like you wouldn’t normally act in an office setting, and embarrass yourself. Keep in mind, a drunk night at a company party could compromise your career and perhaps your freedom. Know your limit and do not go over it at all costs.
2. Avoid flirting – If you are contemplating whether to tell your female coworker that she looks beautiful or smells nice tonight, ask yourself if you would say the same thing to a male coworker? Most likely not. Perhaps you may comment on his attire, especially if you were genuinely interested. But when it comes to saying something about a female coworker’s dress, just keep the comments to yourself.
3. No touching – While you can always shake someone’s hand and perhaps tap their shoulder, touching someone anywhere below the shoulder could be construed as inappropriate. Additionally, holding or rubbing is especially off-limits. If your party has a dance floor, it’s best to keep your hands to yourself and provide some space between you and your dance partner

“Innocent until proven guilty” is more than a crime drama quote, it’s the foundation of the American justice system. Unfortunately, some people accused of sexual assault or domestic violence are proven guilty despite their innocence. These scenarios are extremely serious, and they often destroy the lives of the accused. Read the stories below to learn just how devastating false accusations can be.

Cornerstone Caroline

In October of 2018, a young boy in New York was accused of sexual harassment by a woman during a routine shopping trip with his mother. As the boy walked down an aisle of the store, his backpack bumped into a woman who then accused him of groping her. The woman made a scene and called police and asked them to investigate the situation. Six days after the incident, video evidence proved the boy’s innocence, and through tears, the boy said that the event has made him think about life differently. Quite a traumatic experience for a nine-year-old boy, but luckily, the video evidence doesn’t lie.

Connecticut Football Accusation

In 2016, two young college football players were forced to leave their school and their team when a woman accused them of rape. While the three did have a sexual encounter, the woman reportedly told the police she was raped so she wouldn’t lose a potential boyfriend. This accusation forced the players to lose their scholarships to the school, and they were subsequently expelled. Fortunately, justice prevailed in this story, and the woman was sentenced to a year in jail for her made-up story.

Decades of Imprisonment

Two men accused of rape in 1991 were finally acquitted of the crime in May of 2018. Decades after a fabricated story of rape at knife-point, a man who faced 26 years in prison and another man who faced 11 years in prison were finally given their innocence back. The woman who accused them of rape held on to the secret of these men’s innocence for more than 25 years and each one paid a significant price. Although their innocence is proven, the men lost a combined 37 years of life due to the woman’s claim.

As you can see, false accusations destroy lives. If you or a loved one have been the victim of a false accusation of sexual assault, SRC Law Group, LLC can help.