Law Office Of CHRISTOPHER LEIBIG Criminal Defense

Sex Crimes

Law Office Of CHRISTOPHER LEIBIG Criminal Defense

Federal Crimes Defense

Being accused of a sex crime carries a heavy stigma and can significantly disrupt your life, reputation, and future. At The Law Office of Christopher Leibig, we understand the complex emotional, social, and legal challenges involved in these sensitive cases. Attorney Chris Leibig provides experienced, compassionate, and aggressive representation to protect your rights and pursue the best possible outcome.

Appeals are an academic proposition. When seeking an appellate attorney, one should be considering intellect, sophistication, and patience. One phone call with most firms is enough to tell an educated consumer to move along. If the lawyer mentions the fee, or how to pay, within the first hour, or over the phone, they do not care about winning the case or helping you. It takes many hours to even understand what is involved with each individual appellate case. If the firm is too busy to meet with you to discuss details without being paid, the firm should not be taken seriously for an appeal. Anyone who goes to trial and loses a criminal case is forced to face the reality that his or her freedom, reputation, or both rests on the success of their criminal appeal. Appeals rarely win. Creativity is everything, It’s important that attorneys tell clients the truth about that. Importantly, when we take on an appeal the client will understand the strategy and why it is worth employing before moving forward.

Chris has regularly handled appeals in the Virginia Court of Appeals, the Virginia Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond. In 2023 he and Meghan Shapiro won reversal of a 25 year Arlington sentence in a child sex abuse case. (Alberto-Rodriguez v. Commonwealth). Some of his other appellate cases include Foltz v. Commonwealth, the first warrantless GPS tracking case in Virginia history, Rogers v. Commonwealth, a death penalty case that resulted in a life sentence; Commonwealth v. Pannell, a case that heightened protections for juveniles charged with probation violations and provoked the General Assembly to change the Juvenile Code; Brown v. Commonwealth, a DWI case reversed by the Virginia Court of Appeals because of faulty breath test procedures; Hernandez v. United States, a case that challenged the federal rule not requiring a jury trial in DWI cases; and, United States v. Jeffery, an appeal of a conviction for a multi-million dollar oil theft scam in Iraq and Commonwealth v. Bjerke, a case challenging the government use of DNA evidence in a genetic genealogy case. The firm handles appeals by charging an initial fee for an extensive review of the record to determine whether the case contains issue meritorious enough to warrant expenditure of the costs for the whole appeal. After such a review,and once a client decides to appeal, the fee can be structured over time.

What Are the Biggest Challenges You Face in Sex Crime Cases?

From Chris' interview on ReelLawyers.com

The biases and the stigma of the allegations against your client make every ruling a little bit harder. Prosecutors and judges do not want to be seen as lenient when there’s a sex offense at play, and that can affect even small pre-trial rulings.

A lot of those cases also have forensic evidence, which could be in the form of things concerning injuries or alleged injuries. It could also be digital evidence. A lot of times, the relationship between two people is laid out somewhere on social media or in similar ways. There are a lot of components to that.

Another thing that’s flat-out hard about these cases—just like other serious cases—is the extremely high penalties. That always adds tension to your client’s life, to the representation, and to the difficult decisions they have to make.

Another major factor is the sex offender registry. For example, you could have someone who has a very good case. They might be innocent. It might be that what’s being said about them is completely overstated, but they’re petrified to go to the penitentiary. Then they get offered what seems like a very good deal. Maybe they won’t go to jail, or if they do, it’s for a short time and they can move on with their life. But the sex offender registry—being on it for life—is a punishment that never goes away.

We present this information to courts all the time about how oppressive the sex offender registry really is. Basically, it’s like civil death. If you’re not independently wealthy, you’re never going to have a job with good earnings again unless you start your own business. It’s hard to find places to live. It’s very hard to find anywhere to rent. Obviously, the stigma of it follows you on the internet. Anyone who meets you is going to know about it; it’s going to be the first thing that pops up. So even with a good result in a case, your client may still end up with that outcome.

People fight. People will go to trial on cases just to avoid that punishment because it’s so terrible. Otherwise, maybe the case would resolve. I have no problem saying that because the sex offender registration is mandatory for certain kinds of cases. The judge cannot change it—ever.

There are many people on the registry who simply don’t need to be there. They aren’t dangerous. Even the prosecutor and the judge might say, “I’m not saying they need to be on it. It’s not my fault; that’s what the law says.”

That’s one of the biggest challenges. When people come in, that’s what they hear about. You can’t get around it unless you beat the case or get it reduced to something else.

Types of Sex Crime Charges

Sex offense cases can encompass a wide range of charges, including:

Sexual Assault and Rape
Child Pornography Charges
Internet Sex Crimes
Solicitation and Prostitution
Indecent Exposure
Statutory Rape
Sex Offender Registry Violations

These charges often involve forensic evidence, digital records, social media interactions, and complex interpersonal relationships. Thorough analysis and understanding of these factors are essential to a strong defense.

What Experience Do You Have Handling Cyber Crimes or Internet Sex Crime Cases?

From Chris' interview on ReelLawyers.com

So when you say cyber crimes, I’m taking that to mean possession of child pornography and the crime referred to as Internet solicitation or Internet enticement. Internet enticement roughly means when an adult is communicating with a minor—or a police officer pretending to be a minor—about sex on the internet.

These kinds of cases are everywhere. There are so many of them. Enforcement is a major priority, especially in certain places. They’re conducting sting operations all the time to bring these cases in. There’s an extensive network of private and public organizations working to find the IP addresses where people are accessing child pornography and prosecute them.

I’ve handled many of these cases over quite a few years. The reason for that is, first, there are just so many of them out there. But also, a lot of times in these kinds of cases, the client is actually pretty sympathetic—contrary to popular opinion. A lot of people who get ensnared in sting operations or who have their computers loaded with unlawful pornography often suffer from some kind of personal deficit, such as a developmental disability, or at the very least, some form of anxiety that results in a diminished social life. This is very common.

It’s so well known that autistic individuals are more likely to be charged with these kinds of offenses or engage in this type of behavior that the Virginia legislature passed a law in 2021 specifically to help people with autism or developmental disabilities have a chance at a deferred disposition in these cases. This issue is becoming more widely recognized.

One big thing about these cases is that the penalties are very, very high. For internet solicitation, there are mandatory minimum sentences that apply. For child pornography, there are also mandatory minimums for certain kinds of charges. The more images you have, the higher the penalty. And most people who have any at all tend to have a lot because they’re downloading them from websites.

One way to illustrate this: In Virginia—and I’m pretty sure this is true in many states—if a 20-year-old were to have a consensual relationship with a 15-year-old, that would be a misdemeanor. But to solicit that relationship over the internet would be a felony that carries lifetime sex offender registration and probably a prison sentence, even if the relationship never happened and it was all virtual.

That’s the level of enforcement power placed on these internet crimes. In many cases, the penalties far exceed what would have happened if it were a real-life situation.

Segio A. Alberto Rodriguez v. Commonwealth of Virginia 2022 Virginia Court of Appeals - Unpublished Opinions Decisions Virginia Case Law Virginia Law US Law Justia

Unique Challenges in Sex Crime Cases

Sex crime allegations carry significant biases and stigmas that can affect every step of the legal process:

Pre-Trial Challenges

Judges and prosecutors often feel pressured to appear tough on sex crimes, which can impact decisions on bail, evidence admissibility, and pre-trial rulings. It's crucial to have skilled legal counsel to navigate these biases effectively.

Forensic and Digital Evidence

Many sex offense cases involve forensic evidence, digital communications, and social media interactions. Attorney Chris Leibig has extensive experience analyzing, challenging, and presenting complex forensic and digital evidence effectively.

High Penalties and Life-Altering Consequences

Sex crime convictions often result in severe penalties, including substantial prison sentences. Even more devastating is the requirement to register as a sex offender, potentially for life.

Can You Tell Us About a Memorable Sex Crime Case You Handled?

From Chris' interview on ReelLawyers.com

I’ve had a lot, but I’ll mention this one merely because I did the argument this morning in federal court down the street in Alexandria. It was an appeal about the right to a jury trial in what they call a petty offense in federal court.

A lot of people don’t know this, but even though the Sixth Amendment says a jury trial right applies in all criminal prosecutions, it doesn’t if you’re charged with a misdemeanor in federal court that carries only up to six months in jail. Often, this comes up with cases like offenses committed on national park property—there’s no right to a jury trial.

I challenged that back in 2009 in the Fourth Circuit, and I have another case raising the same issue, which I argued today. At this level, it will likely lose. The case needs to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

I really think that’s interesting because in federal court, you essentially don’t have the right to a jury trial on a DUI. It’s harder to negotiate, and it’s harder for clients in these kinds of cases. This has always been an issue I’ve been interested in, and I hope to argue it in the Fourth Circuit later this year.

What Trends Do You See in the Prosecution of Sex Crimes?

From Chris' interview on ReelLawyers.com

They’ve always been very difficult because of the bias that comes into play with those kinds of cases—both with prosecutors, investigators, judges, and juries. It’s the kind of case where, when someone’s accused, there’s just a stigma that makes every ruling, every little part of it, harder. Even more so than a violent crime like a shooting. It’s just because of the way we think about that kind of crime.

I don’t know if this is a trend, but it’s always been the case with those sorts of allegations. It’s also the kind of allegation where there are very many false accusations, despite what sometimes gets talked about in court. Many people are accused of some kind of sexual offense and never get charged because, when it’s investigated, it turns out to be pretty bogus. This happens all the time. Every experienced defense attorney has clients they’ve met with where no case ever happened because it turned out the allegation wasn’t believable, or the evidence wasn’t there, or whatever the issue was. That happens quite a lot.

Now, as far as trends go, I would say in the last five years, as we all know, there has been a trend—and I’m not saying it’s a negative thing—but a trend toward believing victims. This is tied up with things concerning the Me Too movement, which has very positive aspects. In the criminal justice context for sex offenses, though, you are palpably going against that. The public message is, “We’re sick and tired of people getting away with treating others like this,” which is a proper and powerful message. But in the criminal justice context, you’re talking about an individual. Those kinds of political messages can be powerful and daunting, and you can be sure jurors are thinking about those things when they’re wondering if they want to be the person to acquit someone.

So that’s a trend I would say is definitely there.

Aggressive, Personalized Defense

Attorney Chris Leibig understands how oppressive sex offender registration can be. He is dedicated to fighting aggressively to prevent these consequences whenever possible, through:

Challenging weak or overstated allegations
Negotiating favorable plea agreements
Aggressive representation at trial
Ensuring your rights are protected throughout the process

Chris Leibig is committed to providing strategic, compassionate defense aimed at reducing or eliminating the severe consequences associated with sex crime allegations.