Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

a href="http://www.joebakerlaw.com/html/meet.html">Tennessee criminal defense attorneys are experienced in defending sex crime cases. Under Tennessee law, teachers, coaches, priests, police and other authority figures are held to a higher standard when it comes to sexual battery. Sexual battery by an authority figure is considered to be more serious than regular sexual battery. These types of cases are highly discussed, and seem to be in the news frequently.

Sexual battery by an authority figure is unlawful sexual contact with a victim by the defendant or the defendant by a victim accompanied by the following circumstances:

• The victim was, at the time of the offense, thirteen (13) years of age or older but less then eighteen (18) years of age; or
• The victim was, at the time of the offense, mentally defective, mentally incapacitated or physically helpless, regardless of age; and,

• The defendant was at the time of the offense in a position of trust, or had supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the defendant's legal, professional or occupational status and used the position of trust or power to accomplish the sexual contact; or
• The defendant had, at the time of the offense, parental or custodial authority over the victim and used the authority to accomplish the sexual contact. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-527 (2007).

Sexual battery by an authority figure is a Class C felony. Your Tennessee criminal attorney needs to be experienced in sex crime cases. These types of cases have special considerations which affect all parties involved. Allegations are sometimes easy to make, but can be difficult to disprove. Our Tennessee attorneys handle all types of sexual offenses including sexual battery by authority figure, statutory rape, and rape in the Knoxville, Sevierville, Johnson City, Morristown, Maryville, and Newport areas.