Top Wilmington, NC Lewd & Lascivious Behavior Lawyers Near You

What Is Lewd and Lascivious Behavior?

Lewd and lascivious behavior involves offensive sexual conduct. This may involve touching the genitals, buttocks, or breasts in a sexual manner. Lewd behavior can be done for sexual arousal, to gratify lust, or satisfy sexual desires.

Lewd touching can involve touching one’s own genitals or touching the private parts of another. Even if the defendant is not doing anything for sexual gratification, it may be lewd if it is intended to offend someone else.

What Are Examples of Lewd and Lascivious Conduct?

Lewd and lascivious conduct generally depends on the intent of the defendant. For example, touching one’s genitals to go to the bathroom behind a building may not be considered lewd if the defendant reasonably did not expect anyone else to see. However, flashing their sexual organs to annoy a passerby could be considered lewd. Other examples of lewd and lascivious acts may include:

• Having sex in public
• Recording an exhibitionism video in a park
• Masturbating in a vehicle
• Exposure of genitalia to minor children
• Groping someone on a bus

What Are the Penalties for Lewd Acts With a Child?

Lewd acts with a child is a more serious criminal sex offense and is generally charged as a felony. Lewd acts with a child may involve touching a child anywhere for the purpose of arousal or sexual gratification. This includes touching a child through their clothing or causing the child to touch the offender’s body.

What Are Lewd Acts in Public?

Lewd acts in public involve touching your genitals or someone else’s private parts for sexual gratification or arousal. In some cases, this may be considered indecent exposure. The definition of public may be broad, including inside your vehicle or private businesses if they are open to the public. The police may target people for this crime through undercover busts, including searching adult theatres, massage parlors, or nude beaches.

What Is Lewd or Lascivious Battery?

In some cases, statutory rape is charged as lewd or lascivious battery. Statutory rape involves sexual contact or sexual activity with someone who is below the age of consent. Under the age of consent, a person is not legally able to agree to have sex with an adult, even if the minor child claims to want to have sex. Consent is not a defense to lewd or lascivious battery involving sex with a child under age.

What Are the Penalties For Lewdness?

The criminal penalties for a lewd and lascivious charges conviction depend on several factors. Criminal lewdness can be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the situation. Aggravating factors that may increase the penalties and be charged as a felony offense include:

• Lewdness involving a minor child
• Injury to a victim
• Prior sexual offenses
• Taking video or photos of the activity
• Lewdness and stalking
• Lewd and lascivious child molestation
• Lewd and lascivious exhibition
• Lewdness and violation of a protective order

As a misdemeanor, lewd and lascivious behavior can result in up to a year of jail time. As a felony, a conviction may include a multiple-year prison sentence, fines, victim restitution, protective orders, and registration as a sex offender. Felons also have severe consequences that continue after serving their sentence, including housing restrictions, job limitations, and may be prohibited from possessing or owning a firearm.

Do I Have to Register as a Sex Offender After a Conviction?

In some cases, a conviction for lewd and lascivious behavior will require the defendant to register as a sex offender. A registered sex offender has to register with local law enforcement when they are released from custody. Once a year and any time the offender moves, they will have to re-register with the police.

The national sex offender registry is a public record. Anyone can search their state’s registry for a sexual offender by name or by location. Your neighbors, co-workers, and family members can find out a lot of information from the sex offender registry, including:

• Name of the offender
• Sex offender’s registerable offense
• Address
• Physical description
• Photograph of the offender

What Can a Sex Crime Lawyer Do to Help?

There are lots of ways a criminal defense attorney can help someone accused of lewd behavior. A sex crime defense lawyer can investigate your case, review the state’s evidence, and challenge the prosecutor’s case in court. If the prosecutor cannot prove every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, your lawyer can help you avoid a conviction and keep your criminal record clean.

Even if you are facing a lot of evidence against you, your criminal defense lawyer can negotiate with the prosecutor to get a plea bargain. A plea agreement can help you avoid the harshest penalties. By pleading guilty or no contest, you may be able to avoid jail time, avoid sex offender registration, and have your lewd and lascivious charges reduced, for the best possible outcome.