Kansas City Sex Crime Defense Attorney

A sex crime charge in Missouri can follow you for life. A conviction can mean prison and registration as a sex offender, with limits on where you can live, work, and go. Your reputation, your family, and your job can all be at risk before a case is even resolved.

I am Andrew T. Christie, a Kansas City criminal defense lawyer. I defend people accused of rape, statutory rape, sexual abuse, child molestation, possession of child pornography, and internet sex offenses in Kansas City and the surrounding communities, including Jackson, Clay, and Platte Counties. I will explain the charge, the evidence, and the choices in front of you, and I prepare every case as if it will be tried.

Call 816-533-3456 for a free, confidential consultation. If you believe you are being investigated but have not been charged, call before you speak with police.

What A Sex Crime Conviction Can Cost You

Missouri prosecutes these cases aggressively, and the consequences outlast the sentence. Depending on the offense and your history, a conviction can bring:

• Prison, with some offenses carrying a range of five years to life

• Fines, probation, and court-ordered treatment

• Registration on Missouri’s sex offender registry, for 15 years, 25 years, or life, depending on the tier

• Limits on where you can live and where you can be

Registration is not a listing and nothing more. You provide your address, a photograph, fingerprints, a DNA sample, and your online usernames and screen names. Your information is posted publicly. Under Missouri law, a person required to register generally may not reside within 1,000 feet of a school, a child care facility, or a former victim’s residence, and may not be present or loiter within 500 feet of a school, a child care facility, or certain parks and pools. Missouri does not allow expungement of a sex crime conviction.

That is why the charge itself has to be fought. Waiting to worry about the registry until after a plea is how people give up leverage they still had.

How These Cases Move Through Kansas City Courts

Most of these investigations start with the Kansas City Police Department, sometimes with a digital-crimes or internet task force already involved. After an arrest, the early days matter. Booking, bond, and the first review by the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office — or by prosecutors in Clay or Platte County, if that is where the case is filed — all happen before most people understand what they are charged with.

Do not try to explain your side to a detective. Statements made in an interview, on a jail call, or in a text to the other person are evidence. I am available evenings and weekends, and I make jail visits, because these cases do not wait for business hours.

Some accusations that begin as a Missouri case can draw federal interest, particularly child exploitation and online enticement investigations involving federal agencies. If that is a risk in your case, you should know it early, before you make statements or agree to a search.

Rape Charges In Missouri

Missouri divides rape by what the state says happened, not by a single definition.

First-degree rape, under RSMo 566.030, is sexual intercourse by forcible compulsion, or with a person who is incapacitated, lacks the capacity to consent, or lacks the capacity to consent because of intoxication or a similar condition. It is a felony with a range of five years to life. The minimum rises, and a suspended sentence is barred, when the case involves serious physical injury, a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument displayed in a threatening manner, or more than one person.

Second-degree rape, under RSMo 566.031, is sexual intercourse without consent. It is a class D felony.

Sodomy in the first and second degree, RSMo 566.060 and 566.061, follows the same structure for deviate sexual intercourse. If your charge uses the word sodomy rather than rape, the penalties and the defense work are closely related, and you should treat it just as seriously.

A rape conviction will follow you. For the most serious offenses, registration lasts for life. I will walk you through plea negotiations and trial, including what each path costs you, and we will decide together. I do not decide that for you.

Statutory Rape Under Missouri Law

In Missouri, the question in a statutory rape case is age, not whether anyone says the act was consensual. Consent is not a defense.

Statutory rape in the first degree, RSMo 566.032, is sexual intercourse with someone under 14. It carries five years to life, and the minimum increases if the child is under 12 or if injury, a weapon, or more than one person is involved. Believing the child was older is not a defense when the child is under 14.

Statutory rape in the second degree, RSMo 566.034, applies when a person 21 or older has sexual intercourse with someone under 17. It is a class D felony. A reasonable belief that the other person was 17 or older can be raised as a defense in this degree. It cannot be raised when the child is under 14.

Statutory sodomy in the first and second degree, RSMo 566.062 and 566.064, applies the same age rules to deviate sexual intercourse.

These charges are often filed against young adults who believed the relationship was legal. The title the statute uses does not soften what a conviction does to your record, your freedom, or your registration obligations. I defend these cases on the age elements, on identity, and on whether the state can actually prove the act it charged.

Sexual Abuse, Sexual Misconduct, And Child Molestation

Not every sex charge in Missouri is rape. The degree depends on the act and the age alleged.

Sexual abuse in the first degree, RSMo 566.100, involves sexual contact by forcible compulsion. It is a class C felony, and it rises to a class B felony if the contact is with a person under 14. Second-degree sexual abuse, RSMo 566.101, is sexual contact without consent, a class A misdemeanor unless the person is under 14 or otherwise incapable of consent, in which case it is a class E felony.

Child molestation is charged by the age of the child and the act alleged. First degree, RSMo 566.067, involves a child under 14 and sexual contact, and it is a class A felony when intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, or other aggravating facts are charged. Second, third, and fourth degree cover contact with younger children and exposure offenses, and each carries its own felony class.

Sexual misconduct, RSMo 566.093 and 566.095, covers exposure and similar conduct. It is still a criminal charge, and it can still carry registration consequences depending on the facts and the person’s history.

Possession Of Child Pornography

Possession of child pornography is prosecuted under RSMo 573.037, and prosecutors in Kansas City pursue it aggressively. The class of the charge depends on the number of images and videos and on whether you have a prior conviction for a sex offense. A conviction can mean prison and lifetime registration, with the same limits on where you can live and work as any other registerable offense.

These cases are built on devices, accounts, and downloads. They turn on questions a jury cannot answer without technical work: who had access to the device, how the file got there, whether it was cached or deliberately saved, and whether the warrant described what officers actually seized. I use forensic review to test the state’s account of how material ended up on a computer or phone. Do not agree to an interview or hand over passwords before you have a lawyer.

Internet Sex Crimes And Entrapment-Style Stings

Missouri law enforcement, including local task forces, actively investigates online solicitation and enticement. In a typical sting, an officer poses as a minor, keeps the conversation going, and proposes a meeting. The arrest happens at the meeting place.

Enticement of a child, RSMo 566.151, is a felony. It reaches someone 21 or older who persuades, solicits, coaxes, or entices a person under 15, or an officer pretending to be under 15, for a sexual purpose. The charge does not require that a meeting actually happen. Related charges include misrepresenting your age to solicit a minor and promoting online sexual solicitation.

The time to call is when you learn you are being investigated, not after you have been charged and interviewed. Early representation can limit what you say and what you consent to give up. Once you have given a statement, that evidence is very hard to undo.

How I Defend A Sex Crime Case

Every one of these cases is different, but the work follows the same standard. I read the reports, the messages, and the forensic findings before I talk to you about a plea. Approaches that fit these cases include:

• Consent, where the charge requires the state to prove it was absent

• Age and identity, including a reasonable belief that the other person was 17 or older when that defense is legally available

• Alibi, and gaps in who was actually present

• Weaknesses in witness accounts, including motive and inconsistent statements

• Forensic review of devices, DNA, and medical findings

• Suppression, when a stop, a search, a warrant, or an interrogation violated your rights

I try cases. I also negotiate. Preparing the case for trial is what gives a negotiation any weight, and you will know which path we are on and why.

Missouri Sex Crime FAQ

What is the age of consent in Missouri?
Seventeen. Sexual intercourse between someone 21 or older and someone under 17 can be charged as statutory rape in the second degree even when both people say it was consensual. Intercourse with someone under 14 is statutory rape in the first degree, and mistake about age is not a defense.

What is the sentence for rape in Missouri?
First-degree rape carries five years to life. The minimum increases to 10 or 15 years, and a suspended sentence is not available, when the state proves serious physical injury, a weapon displayed in a threatening manner, or that more than one person was involved. Second-degree rape is a class D felony, punishable by up to seven years.

What happens if I am convicted of a sex crime against a child?
Offenses involving children are sentenced harshly, and a conviction will almost always require registration. Registration restricts where you can live and whether you can be near schools, child care facilities, and parks. The charge alone can damage your reputation, which is why the defense should start immediately.

What defenses can be raised?
It depends on the statute. Consent matters for some charges and is legally irrelevant for others. A reasonable belief that the other person was 17 or older can be a defense to second-degree statutory rape, but not when the child is under 14. Other defenses include alibi, mistaken identity, insufficient evidence, illegally obtained evidence, and, in the right case, a false accusation.

Can a Missouri sex crime conviction be expunged?
Most cannot. Under RSMo 610.140, a conviction that requires sex-offender registration cannot be expunged, and neither can an offense in Chapter 566. That covers rape, statutory rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, child molestation, enticement, and possession of child pornography. A few offenses outside those categories may be eligible, but eligibility depends on the exact statute and how the case ended. An arrest that ends in a dismissal or an acquittal is a different situation from a conviction. Whether a particular record can be cleared is something to take up in a consultation, not something to assume from a general list.

What should I do if I am accused, or if police want to talk?
Do not give a statement, consent to a search of your phone, or try to clear things up with the other person. Call me at 816-533-3456. I handle these cases in Kansas City and the surrounding counties, and I am available evenings and weekends.

Talk With A Kansas City Sex Crime Lawyer

If you are under investigation or you have been charged, contact me, Andrew T. Christie, at 816-533-3456, or contact the firm online. The consultation is free and confidential. I offer payment plans, and I will tell you where you stand before you decide anything.