The Austin internet crime defense lawyers at our firm represent people who have been charged with or perhaps are under investigation for computer and Internet-related crimes in Austin. Contact an Austin cyber crime attorney right away for a zero cost consultation.
It is the job of police and other investigators to properly collect and preserve the evidence in any case. Because of the nature of computer evidence, proving an Internet sex case or other computer crime can be very difficult. The Assistant District Attorney is required to prove that the person accused actually committed the crime. Although it is easy for authorities to make allegations, actually proving who committed a computer crime may be difficult or impossible.
The Assistant DA often uses expert witnesses to prove these complex and difficult cases, which is why you need a qualified and aggressive trial lawyer to defend you. If authorities or experts did not legally obtain the evidence or later mishandled that evidence, such evidence may not be admissible at trial. You should seek the advice of a reputable Austin internet defense attorney to protect your rights.
Austin Computer Crimes Lawyer
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New technology inevitably requires changes to the law, nevertheless it will take time for an emerging area of law to fully develop. However, what doesn’t change are definitely the constitutional rights and civil rights available to every citizen: the right to privacy, the right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure, and the right to private property. Federal and state authorities usually violate these rights when investigating a case, going as far as to entrap or even harass citizens.
The Austin internet crime defense lawyers at our firm defend people looking at criminal charges for actions that reportedly used the internet as a tool, including:
- Internet fraud and computer fraud, which includes e-mail campaigns to secure bank information such as Nigeria e-mails, eBay scams, and modeling scams
- Credit card fraud and identity theft, phishing, pharming, and also DNS hijacking
- Internet gambling
- Sale of counterfeit goods on the internet, this includes software piracy, computer game piracy, video game piracy, music piracy
- Internet pornography, including possession of child pornography, dissemination of child pornography, and also violation of local obscenity ordinances
- Cyber stalking
- Sexual solicitation, which includes online child sex solicitation, instant messaging sexually explicit material to children
- Human trafficking – using the internet for illegal online trafficking of women or children for sex or servitude as well as child sexual exploitation
A specific area of cyber law involves crimes against computers and the internet, such as:
- Internet viruses
- Hacking and computer sabotage
- Invasion of privacy by planting crime ware and spyware
Online Solicitation of a Minor in Texas
In their efforts to fight the online distribution of child pornography, law enforcement agencies will often visit Internet “Chat Rooms” or similar “instant messaging” sites and pretend to be someone under the age of 17. Should a conversation begin, and the subject of that conversation turns to matters of a sexual nature, you are at risk of being charged with online solicitation of a minor. Even if the person that you are taking to is not a police officer, you can still be charged if you had reason to believe that the other person was 17 years of age or younger.
The State of Texas has one of the more liberal legal definitions of online solicitation than in any other state. In Texas, online solicitation of a minor occurs when you:
- Engage in a conversation or exchange of electronic messages for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification with someone who is 17 years of age or younger
- Send or receive pictures or other images whose purpose is to arouse or gratify another person
- Arrange to meet with that person for the stated purpose of sexual activity. Under Texas law, you can be charged and convicted of online solicitation even if the meeting does not take place or even if you had no intention of meeting the other person
Depending on the circumstances of the case, conviction on a charge of online solicitation can carry very severe penalties:
- Any conviction for online solicitation is a state jail felony and can carry a sentence of from 180 days to 2 years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.
- Multiple convictions can be punished as a third degree felony, which carries a prison term of from 2 to 10 years and/or a fine of $10,000.
If you are arrested on a charge of online solicitation, you will probably find that your friends and neighbors are not talking to you and that, depending on your type of employment, you may be suspended or fired from your job. In addition, your family may also become socially isolated because of your arrest. During these stressful times, you must have a criminal defense lawyer on your side to help you defend yourself against these charges.
Frequently Committed Internet Crimes
In our state, frequently committed internet crimes can include: internet fraud, phishing, credit card fraud, illegal downloading, child pornography, illegal pornography, as well as illegal distribution of viruses/spam.
Austin Internet Crime Legal Penalties
When a person is found guilty an internet crime, he/she may be punished with:
- Imprisonment
- Large fines
- Community service
- Probation
- Parole
- Restitution
If the defendant has a prior criminal offense on his/her record, or if ever the defendant committed a sex crime involving a minor while using the internet, he/she may be subject to enhanced criminal charges as well as sentencing if found guilty.
Due to the life-altering legal effects that are involved, it is definitely in someone’s best interest to get the services of a criminal defense attorney Austin who has got the legal background and knowledge it requires to effectively fight internet crime charges.
Getting an expert Internet Crimes Attorney Austin
We are a criminal defense law firm that has been helping clients throughout Austin contest their criminal charges and get excellent final results for years. Our skilled internet crimes lawyers have a lot of courtroom experience and we are truly prepared to take on our clients’ cases.
When we work with our clients, we all do everything possible to be certain that they receive the attention, resources, and committed legal counsel that they deserve. If you are charged with a serious Austin internet offense, do not think twice to phone our firm right now. Our knowledgeable legal staff can look at your case plus inform you you of your legal options.
Austin Internet Crime Defense Attorneys
At our criminal defense law firm, we defend people charged with Internet crimes such as phishing, eBay fraud, hacking, identity theft, and malicious distribution of a computer virus. Many Internet crimes, like other white-collar crimes, are felonies and carry mandatory minimum sentences.
A mandatory minimum sentence implies the judge would be required to send you to jail for a certain period of time with no chance of probation or even early parole. A conviction for an Internet crime would also make it tough for you to get a job when you leave prison.
Few employers would consider hiring somebody who has a conviction for eBay fraud or identity theft. For you to preserve your freedom and your future, you will need an Austin Internet crimes defense lawyer who is willing to fight for you.
Austin Internet Sex Crimes
Internet sex crimes, specially those connected with children along the lines of possession of child pornography or perhaps solicitation of minors in chat rooms, elicit more outrage and condemnation than almost any other type of crime.
The accused are presented as leading dual lives and unworthy of the basic constitutional freedoms, which often, we take for granted. Similar to other sorts of sex offenses, Internet sex crimes have the probability of lifetime registration as a sex offender once you have finished your sentence.
Up against the chance of a long jail sentence and a lifetime of monitoring and registration, you must have a lawyer who is willing to fight for you and who can poke openings in the prosecution’s case. The defense for a lot of sex crimes connected with chat room talks is entrapment, since law enforcement officers pretending to be kids can be quite pushy to meet up with the adult. We have also defended child pornography cases by simply showing that others have had easy access to the computer and that our client was elsewhere when the photos had been downloaded.
Call today for a zero cost case evaluation: Don’t let anybody pressure you into pleading guilty to an Internet crime. Phone an Austin Internet crimes defense attorney today.
Austin Cyber Crime
Our law firm’s Austin cyber crime, computer crime, internet crime and criminal defense attorneys, have numerous years of criminal law practical experience. Our expertise consists of considerable hands-on experience in how cyber crimes are investigated, charged and prosecuted. We all use this working experience on our clients’ benefit as intense Austin cyber crime criminal defense attorneys.
Cyber, internet, and also computer crimes are being prosecuted in a way never seen before. Cyber crimes are an emerging, complex area of the law. Technology is beginning to change the way in which folks survive everyday, and the courts are no different. As technology changes, so will the law.
Computer forensics is now being used like never before to find out evidence that may or may not suggest what it depicts. Frequently, it isn’t about what the data reveals, but how the data found its way to a specific location within a computer as well as exactly what caused it to be there. What lawyers usually forget about in cyber crimes cases are the specifics, like viruses, spyware and downloading software — all the various circumstances that may explain the evidence.
You should not delay – allow our firm of Austin cyber crime criminal defense lawyers defend your good name and standing. We offer absolutely free, confidential consultations to prospective clients and their loved ones, round the clock and seven days a week.
Call right away or contact us online for a Totally free, CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION.