Sexual Assault Lawyers Sydney

The charge of “Aggravated Sexual Assault” is simply “Sexual Assault”, however in circumstances of aggravation. In other words, it is a more serious incident/s of sexual assault. Circumstances of aggravation include injury resulting from the assault, committing the offence in company, and particular vulnerabilities of the victim. The law is set out below.

Aggravated sexual assault is a very serious offence, almost inevitably leading to a sentence of full time imprisonment if found guilty.

Our solicitors at LY Lawyers have been very successful in challenging these charges, and more recently have achieved an acquittal for our client in the Sydney District Court following a trial by jury in June 2014, before Judge Hoy. The case involved multiple “historical” sexual assault allegations said to have taken place more than 20 years ago.

What Are Your Options When Charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault?

Plead not guilty:

To be convicted of aggravated sexual assault, the police must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you had nonconsensual sexual intercourse with a person, behaved in an intentionally malicious and reckless way, inflicted bodily harm or threatened to inflict actual bodily harm, deprived them of their liberty, were in the company of others, or committed sexual assault owards a person under 16 years of age, who had cognitive impairment or serious physical disability. 

Where the alleged victim is under the age of 16 years, the age of the victim is an additional element that the prosecution will have to prove.

If any of the above elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty of the offence.

Our experienced criminal lawyers will advise you of your prospects of successfully defending any charge brought against you and fight to have you found not guilty of the offence.

Plead guilty:

If you agree with what the police are alleging against you, the way to get the best result is often to plead guilty as it demonstrates remorse and contrition as well as meaning that you will be entitled to a discount on your sentence. Alternatively, it may be the case that one of our experienced solicitors can negotiate with prosecutors for you to plead guilty to a less serious charge.

The offence of Aggravated Sexual Assault carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment in the District Court. Aggravated Sexual Assault is considered an extremely serious offence. We advise that you contact one of our solicitors immediately if you are charged with this offence.

The term “Indecent assault” was repealed from the NSW legislation in 2015, and is now covered by the subdivision of sexual touching. Indecent assault terminology is still important for historical cases which date back to, and beyond 2018, as these cases can still be charged under the now repealed indecent assault clause. 

Sexual touching is generally dealt with in the Local Courts of NSW, where the jurisdictional maximum penalty for a guilty verdict is 2 years imprisonment. However, where the circumstances of the assault/s are serious, the DPP will often elect to have the charges heard in the District Court, where the maximum penalty is 5 years imprisonment. Our solicitors at LY Lawyers have conducted countless Local Court defended hearings ourselves, and have been extremely successful in achieving “not guilty” verdicts for our clients.

Indecent Assaults can be considered extremely serious, and it is important that you obtain legal advice and instruct a specialist Criminal Lawyer to defend you in these proceedings.

What Are Your Options When Charged with Indecent Assault?

Plead not guilty:

To be convicted of indecent assault/sexual touching, the police must prove that you assaulted another person, and that it was an act of indecency. In some cases, police may want to level more severe aggravated charges at alleged perpetrators. In these cases, they must be able to prove you were in the company of another person or persons, that the alleged victim was under the authority of you, that they have a serious physical disability or cognitive impairment as a result of your actions.

If any of the above elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty of the offence.

Our experienced criminal lawyers will advise you of your prospects of successfully defending any charge brought against you and fight to have you found not guilty of the offence.

Plead guilty:

If you agree with what the police are alleging against you, the way to get the best result is often to plead guilty as it demonstrates remorse and contrition. Alternatively, it may be the case that one of our experienced solicitors can negotiate with prosecutors for you to plead guilty to a less serious charge.

Indecent Assault and Aggravated Indecent Assault are considered to be serious offences. We advise that you contact one of our solicitors immediately if you are charged with either of these offences.

Committing an “act of indecency” is a less common, and often a less serious charge in terms of sexual assaults. The reason for this is that acts of indecency often fall short of touching or penetration. For instance, acts of indecency might include non-consensual exhibitionistic or voyeuristic behaviour deemed offensive by a reasonable person, such as exposing oneself to an unsuspecting person.

The offence of Act of Indecency carries a maximum penalty of a fine of $2,200.00 and/or 12 months imprisonment in the Local Court and 18 months imprisonment in the District Court.

Very often, the evidence can come down to one witness’s version of what he/she saw, which can often be the subject of challenge in court.

What Are Your Options When Charged with an Act of Indecency?

Plead not guilty:

To be convicted of an act of indecency, police must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed an act of indecency with or towards another person, or that you incited someone to do so on your behalf. 

If any of the above elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty of the offence.

Plead guilty:

If you agree with what the police are alleging against you, the way to get the best result is often to plead guilty as it demonstrates remorse and contrition as well as meaning that you will be entitled to a discount on your sentence. Alternatively, it may be the case that one of our experienced solicitors can negotiate with prosecutors for you to plead guilty to a less serious charge.

Depending on the seriousness of the offending, Act of Indecency is an offence that can be dealt with pursuant to section 10 of the Crimes (Sentence Procedure) Act, meaning no conviction will be recorded, there is no other penalty and you will have no criminal record. To find out more about a section 10, click here.

With the abundance of access to material over the internet, these charges are becoming much more common in our society today. Sexual crimes involving children are considered especially serious, and are heavily punished. The production, dissemination and/or possession of child abuse material can carry a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, or more depending on the nature of the crimes. 

It is surprising how many of our clients do not understand the seriousness of charges of possessing material obtained from the internet relating to child abuse. It is not until they are charged and face court, and possible jail time, that they fully appreciate the seriousness of these offences.

What Are Your Options When Charged with Production, Dissemination or Possession of Child Abuse Material (State Charge)?

Plead not guilty:

To be convicted of this offence, police must be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you produced, disseminated or possessed child abuse material. This means they must prove that you either sent, supplied or exhibited the illicit material, filmed, photographed or printed the illicit material, or entered into an agreement or arrangement for a third party to do so on your behalf.

If none of the above elements can be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty of the offence.

If the above elements can be proven beyond reasonable doubt, you can still be found not guilty if you prove that you did not know, or could not reasonably be expected to have known that you possessed, disseminated or produced child abuse material. For an offence involving possession, it is a defence if you can establish that the child abuse material came into your possession unsolicited and as soon as you became aware of it, you took reasonable steps to get rid of it.

Our experienced criminal defence lawyers will advise you of your prospects of successfully defending any charge brought against you and fight to have you found not guilty of the offence.

Plead guilty:

If you agree with what the police are alleging against you, the way to get the best result is often to plead guilty as it demonstrates remorse and contrition as well as meaning that you will be entitled to a discount on your sentence. Alternatively, it may be the case that one of our experienced solicitors can negotiate with prosecutors for you to plead guilty to a less serious charge.

The offence of Production, dissemination or possession of child abuse material is considered an extremely serious offence, and carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment in the District Court.

What Are Your Options When Charged with Using a Carriage Service for Child Pornography Material?

While this is a lesser charge than producing and disseminating, it can still be a serious indictable offence which requires legal representation by a specialist lawyer.

Plead not guilty:

In order to be convicted of this offence, the police must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you intentionally accessed, transmitted, published, solicited or distributed child pornography material, and that you did so using a carriage service, like a computer or mobile phone.

If any of the above elements cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt, then you will be found not guilty of the offence.

Plead guilty:

If you agree with what the police are alleging against you, the way to get the best result is often to plead guilty as it demonstrates remorse and contrition. 

Alternatively, it may be the case that one of our experienced criminal defence lawyers can negotiate with prosecutors for you to plead guilty to a less serious charge.

The offence of using a carriage service for child pornography material carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment in the District Court. Using a carriage service for child pornography material is considered an extremely serious offence. 

Penalties that a court can impose for any criminal offence in NSW are:

• Section 10 – No conviction recorded
• Fine
• Section 9 – Good behaviour bond
• Community service order
• Section 12 – Suspended sentence
• Intensive correction order
• Home detention
• Prison sentence