Sex Crimes Attorney In Oklahoma City
Jacqui Ford, Jacquelyn Ford Law, P.C.: Welcome to Your Best Defense podcast. My name is Jacqui Ford, and today we are going to talk about sex. Specifically, being accused of sex crimes cases in the state of Oklahoma. The first, and most important, piece of advice that I have to give you, and if you hear nothing else in this entire podcast or series of podcasts dealing with sex crimes cases in Oklahoma, hear this: Do not talk to the law enforcement. Most times when people are charged with this, our natural inclination, especially if we're innocent, is to defend ourselves. It is really imperative that you understand that law enforcement are not your friends. They are not asking you questions in order to clear you of these allegations. They are trained to take your words out of context, and use them against you in the future. So, the first and most important thing is, stop talking to the police. Sex crimes allegations gives some extra kinds of concerns that most other cases don't really have. A lot of times, especially if we are falsely accused we want to talk to people about it, about, "How do I get out of this?" And so, we go to our safe places. We talk to our counselor or our psychiatrist, some of us share this information with our preacher, or our friends in the church community. Maybe you know someone at DHS? Or, DHS is the one who's come to you with these kinds of allegations, and they just want to hear your side of the story? You cannot talk to these folks. You can't talk to your primary physician. You can't talk to anybody. You really can't even talk to your wife, your mother, your father, or your kids. And this is why: in Oklahoma these people are deemed mandatory reporters. If these allegations include a minor, which means anyone under the age of 18, even if they're 17-years old, even if you're innocent, even if she consented to the act, they are children. And Oklahoma law requires that these people in power (law enforcement, DHS, doctors, including doctors at the emergency room, your counselors and your preacher) all of these people, with cops as the exception, all of these people kind of have a fundamental confidentiality with you. We protect your communications with your preacher. We protect your communications with your doctor. Often times, the law will even provide a privilege for talking about things with your wife or your husband. But in Oklahoma, these people are called mandatory reporters, which means if they hear that there's an allegation, or they have a suspicion, that a child has been the victim of any kind of abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, if those children have been exposed to things that are outside of what the reported person believes to be community standards, they are obligated under law, not they "can" report you, they are obligated to report you. And their failure to so will put them at risk of being charged criminally. So, all of the places that we generally go to as a safe place are no longer safe when we're being accused of a crime against children or a crime involving sex. With that said, who can you talk to? You have to find a lawyer. The attorney-client privilege that attaches is sacred, and we are not mandatory reporters. You can come into my office and admit that you did every single thing that they said that you did, and I cannot report that. And I will not report it. My ethical obligations as an attorney prohibit me violating that confidence. And I am not a mandatory reporter. So, how do you figure out who to talk to? Well, you don't just want to talk any lawyer. You want to find the lawyer that has experience in sex crimes cases. You have to find an Oklahoma City sex crimes defense lawyer. How do you know if they're sex crimes defense lawyers? Well, we're not allowed to specialize. I can't put on my website, or on my business card, or on a billboard, that I specialize in sex crimes, that I specialize in defending folks accused of crimes against children, or crimes invo