Unlawful Contact with a Minor Charge Dismissed

A man in his mid-20s was recently charged with unlawful contact with a minor (a second degree felony), possession of child pornography (a third degree felony), and corruption of a minor (a third degree felony). Unlawful contact with a minor is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and 25 years as a registered sexual offender. Our client was not working when he hired us because he was fired as soon as the charges were filed.

Our client was accused of sending pictures of himself naked to a 14-year-old girl and requesting nude photographs of her in return. Unfortunately, he made statements to the police prior to contacting us. As a result, law enforcement was going to be able to prove that he was in fact the person who sent the photos. In addition, it hampered our ability to have the case tried before a jury. If convicted of all the offenses he was charged with, our client faced a minimum of three years in prison or at a maximum, 24 years. He was also looking at a total of 55 years of registration as a sex offender.

Despite statements made to the police, we were able to have unlawful contact with a minor, the most serious charge, dismissed at the preliminary hearing. We attended four court dates in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of our client. At the trial level, we were successfully able to negotiate a dismissal of the possession of child pornography charge as well. We ultimately helped our client avoid jail time altogether and significantly reduce the amount of time he would have to register as a sex offender. Our client’s clean record prior to these charges helped.

Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.