Nevada prosecutors can bring sex crime charges based on no evidence other than the accuser’s allegations. The accusation alone is enough to destroy your reputation, and a conviction can land you in prison and on the sex offender registry.
Our Las Vegas sex crimes lawyers have a long track record of fighting bogus charges to get them dropped or reduced to a lesser offense. We understand how high the stakes are, and we take every measure available to win the best possible resolution in your case.
1. What are the best ways to fight sex crime charges?
The three most common defense strategies that our Las Vegas sex crime attorneys use to get charges dismissed are:
- You were falsely accused. Your accuser may be purposely trying to get you into trouble because they are angry or vengeful. Or perhaps your accuser is mentally ill and is spouting baseless allegations.
- Your accuser consented. Maybe your accuser has a distorted view of consent and agency due to the current #MeToo climate. Or perhaps your accuser regretted the sex after the fact and is trying to blame you for their choices.
- The police arrested the wrong person. If the accuser was intoxicated or otherwise incapacitated during the encounter, they may not have a clear recollection of who harmed them. This can lead to innocent people being misidentified as the culprit or being wrongly chosen out of a police lineup.
When building our defense, our Las Vegas sex crime lawyers take the following measures:
- We examine every piece of the state’s evidence for errors, discrepancies, and police misconduct;
- We search for new evidence that places you away from the crime scene, such as eyewitness accounts, video, or GPS records;
- We find evidence that your accuser is not trustworthy, such as through their text messages, voicemails, and other recorded communications;
- We have any DNA evidence independently tested in case contamination or mistakes occurred in the police crime lab; and
- We ask the court to suppress (disregard) any evidence that law enforcement officers may have found through improper means, such as an unlawful search or a coerced confession.
Since Nevada prosecutors have the burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, we compile all the available evidence to raise that reasonable doubt. And if we can show prosecutors that they would probably lose the case if they went to trial, they may be willing to substantially lessen or even drop the sex crime charges completely.
The majority of Nevada sex crime charges are resolved without a trial.
2. How long do prosecutors have to bring charges?
Nevada sexual assault charges can be brought at any time as long as a police report is filed within 20 years of the alleged rape or the suspect’s identity is established by DNA evidence. Otherwise, the statute of limitations to bring rape charges is 20 years after the incident.
Otherwise, prosecutors have three years to bring felony charges, two years to bring gross misdemeanor charges, and one year to bring misdemeanor charges. But if the sex crime involves a child, the statute of limitations can be extended until the child’s 30s or 40s depending on the case.1
3. Can I remain free on bail?
Nevada judges typically grant bail in low-level sex crime cases involving open or gross lewdness, indecent exposure, or prostitution. It is more of an uphill battle to get bail release in sexual assault cases, though the judge may agree to house arrest with electronic monitoring.
In any event, our Las Vegas sex crimes attorneys would request a bail hearing to argue for lower bail or own recognizance release (O.R.) in an effort to keep you out of custody while the case is pending.
4. Will I have to register as a sex offender?
People convicted of gross misdemeanor- or felony sex crimes in Nevada likely will be ordered to register as sex offenders. So even if you get to remain out of custody, you would still have to register and face a massive social stigma.
That is why our Las Vegas sex crime attorneys work so hard to get your charges dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor.
Impeaching the accuser’s credibility may lead to sex crime charges getting dismissed.
5. Will I have to do prison?
Below are the penalty ranges for Nevada’s most common sex offenses.
| Nevada sex crime | Penalties |
| Misdemeanor:
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| Gross misdemeanor:
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| Category D felony:
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Category C felony:
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| Category B felony:
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| Category A felony:
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But our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys’ goal is to get your charges lessened to a misdemeanor or dismissed so you never have to be incarcerated.
Legal References
- NRS 171.080 – .095.
- NRS 200.364 – .373. NRS 201.180. NRS 201.210 – .230. NRS 201.354. NRS 201.540 – .550. See also Miller v. State, (1989) 105 Nev. 497, 779 P.2d 87; Manning v. Warden, Nev. State Prison, (1983) 99 Nev. 82, 659 P.2d 847.