Any felony or misdemeanor criminal charge can negatively affect your life. There is no upside to having a criminal record, paying fines, or spending time behind bars.

One type of criminal charge reigns supreme in its unique ability to haunt you for the rest of your life.

Sex crimes charges are devastating. Being charged alone is enough to drag your reputation through the mud, change the way your neighbors look at you and put a damper on your plans. A conviction will paint you with the label of “registered sex offender”, a label that will continue to drag you down long after you have served your time and paid your fines.

Sex offender registration affects every area of your life, including who you can interact with, where you can work, and even where you can live. Being a registered sex offender can sink your job prospects, limit what parts of town you can live in, keep you from going near schools, and prevent you from giving back to the community through volunteer work such as coaching.

The only way to avoid the terrible collateral consequences of being a registered sex offender is to avoid becoming a registered sex offender in the first place. If you have any reason to believe you are under investigation, have been accused, or the police are asking your questions, it is time to lawyer up.

Your lawyer may be able to prevent charges from being filed in the first place or work out a deal with the prosecution, which results in you pleading to an offense that does not require you to register as a sex offender.