Forcible touching charges dropped for business professional (Manhattan)
2020
Lance’s client was
arrested for allegedly touching the sexual or intimate parts of another person
inside a subway train. During the arrest, the NYPD noticed that he had
been previously
arrested for the same thing. Under a new law, the second time you’re convicted
for forcible touching, you face sex offender registration. In initial
negotiations, the prosecutor was willing to seek a program instead of
jail but it was a sex offender program and the conviction would give him a
permanent criminal record. Our client
contacted us for help. During the months to come, we filed a suppression motion to
suppress the evidence including any
confession that our client provided to the police and the case was ultimately scheduled
for trial. The prosecutor, aware that our client had an arrest history,
was very reluctant to be reasonable but Lance was able to successfully
negotiate a deal to have the criminal forcible touching charges dropped
and replaced with a non-criminal violation which would resolve the case
with no criminal record, no
jail, and no sex-offender program.