Being guilty of a hacking or sexual offense can result in harsh penalties like hefty fines and prison incarceration. A sex offense conviction can have long-term consequences, even after you complete your sentence. The law requires you to enlist with the Virginia Sex Offender Registry, sometimes for the rest of your life. Also, the social stigma of being a sex offender will take a toll on your social, professional, and private lives. If you have been convicted of computer trespass, people will not want you near their businesses because of your history of cybercrime.

Fortunately, you can avoid some or all of these ramifications by enlisting the help of an experienced sex crimes attorney. AtC Virginia Sex Crime Attorney, we will analyze your case to identify viable defense strategies to fight the charges. Even if a conviction is inevitable, our attorneys will negotiate a reduced count whose sentencing attracts less severe penalties. We have discussed computer trespass and sex crimes below to help you understand the offenses, possible sentences, and how to prevent a conviction.

Computer Trespass

The cybercrime of computer trespass, or hacking, is defined as using unlawful means to access someone else’s computer without permission with the intent to engage in malicious conduct. For the prosecutor to charge you with hacking and secure a conviction, they must demonstrate the unauthorized access to another party’s computer or PC was for malicious reasons like:

  • To destroy data.
  • To damage or freeze the computer to malfunction.
  • Modify computer network.
  • Share data obtained through illegal means.

The damage is not only physical, but it also affects computer software or programs. Hacking happens to disfigure the IP address to make it challenging to know the location of the PC or alter programs so that the computer behaves differently. Also, computer trespass can interfere with your device's operating system (OS) and prevent it from running smoothly.

Virginia Computer Trespass Statutes

The world is evolving quickly, with technology spearheading the evolution. With the internet, you can conduct various business transactions online and store essential data. However, despite the growth, several mishaps have resulted from the development and increased cybercrime rates. The increase in cybercrime has made cyber security a crucial component of businesses to secure electronic data and computer operations. Any person intending to invade your privacy or hack your computer will access your financial or private details if your network is insecure.

Several laws have been enacted to define the crime of computer trespass, the actions it prohibits, and the consequences when convicted of this felony offense. The Virginia Computer Offenses Act Section 18.2-152.7 entirely focuses on computer trespass. An individual is deemed to violate this Virginia Code if they use a PC or network acquired unlawfully to engage in an offense like deleting data, unlawfully making document copies without authorization, inflicting physical injuries on another using a PC, or causing a computer system to malfunction.

In these cases, the prosecutor must demonstrate intent for you to receive a proper sentence. It will be cruel if you are convicted of hacking without the prosecutor proving all the elements of the crime. For this reason, various subsections provide different punishments for defendants whom the prosecutor proves acted intentionally or those who did not.

The distinction in penalties as provided for under Sec. 18.2-152.7 B, which classifies hacking as a Level 3 felony when it is done deliberately or with intent. A conviction for this class of felony is punishable by no more than 20 years of incarceration, with the minor sentence being five years in prison. If mitigating circumstances are present in your case, the court can impose the minimum sentence, a monetary fine of $100,000.

However, when you engage in an unlawful act devoid of malice aforethought or intent, the computer trespass will be deemed a Level 6 felony whose punishment is twelve to sixty months in prison, which is a lesser sentence than that of Class 3 felonies. Even though the sentence looks minimal, it is an extended period without freedom, and the court imposes the penalty to reduce hacking prevalence.

Computer Trespass Related Offense and Their Punishments

The crime of computer trespass intends to acquire, share, modify, or destroy electronic data stored on a PC or network. The aim of hacking varies with the hacker. Some want to commit fraud or defamation. Because of variable intentions, multiple offenses have come up related to hacking, the unauthorized access of someone else’s computer. After obtaining the information, the hacker decides what to do with it.

One of the crimes related to hacking is computer fraud. Generally, fraud is using deception or false pretenses to acquire goods or information illegally. You could be charged with computer fraud when you falsify your identity to access another party’s computer or network in Sec. 18.2-152.3. Here, the prosecutor must demonstrate that you planned on acquiring products or services under false pretenses. The law imposes numerous penalties for online fraud, just as it does for hacking because the outcomes of the offense are devastating.

Your actions when committing computer fraud are also involved in computer trespass. You can accomplish computer fraud by deleting transaction record data to conceal evidence for a crime you are accused of. Other times, you can share the data obtained with other parties involved in the offense to tap on resources to derail investigations by establishing several locations and possible perpetrators. After acquiring the necessary information, you can freeze or destroy the device or its network through viruses or by adjusting programs that command PC or computer operations. You do this to establish a new I.D. using the victim’s information for unlawful purposes.

When the computer fraud’s value is $200 or more, the crime is categorized as a Level 5 felony, punishable by twelve to one hundred and twenty months based on the case’s circumstances and the judge’s discretion. When the property stolen in the computer fraud is less than $200, you will face Level 1 misdemeanor charges. A conviction for the offense results in one-year prison incarceration based on the fraud circumstances or a court-imposed fine not exceeding $2,500.

Another crime related to hacking is computer harassment. Usually, hackers engage in computer trespass to harass the victim using data or information obtained from their computer or network. Sec. 18.2-152.7.1 provides for the crime of computer harassment and prohibits individuals from intentionally coercing, intimidating, or harassing someone else by exploiting a computer or network to transfer profound language.

You can hack someone else’s computer to hide your identity while committing harassment by computer so that someone else takes the blame for the harassment. Harassment includes:

  • Sexual harassment.
  • Making racist comments.
  • Making bigoted comments.
  • Blackmail.

The goal of engaging in any of these acts is to intimidate. The standard form of computer harassment is blackmail, where the hacker obtains information the victim wants to keep secret and threatens to release the information. Sexual harassment by computer happens when perpetrators prey on children online and even offer to pay for online sessions to ask for sex. Sec. 18.2-152.7.1 criminalizes using obscene language as harassment. The offense is filed as a Level 1 misdemeanor whose sentence attracts no more than a year in prison, $2,500 in monetary court fines, or both.

Viable Defenses for Computer Trespass

When you face hacking or computer trespass charges, you can apply several defense strategies to avoid a conviction. Your attorney at the Virginia Sex Crime Attorney will use defenses based on your case’s nature. Some defenses we will mount in your case for a charge reduction or dismissal are elaborated below.

First, you can argue that you acted under duress or compulsion from someone with authority over you. The person coercing you can do so with threats of physical harm if you fail to hack the computer they want you to trespass on. You can argue that you were threatened to hack the computer or that you infringed on a computer to save your life from a dangerous situation.

Similarly, you can assert that the computer owner consented to you having access to their device or network. The defense is viable where the computer owner gives you the go-ahead to access their device, but they falsely accuse you of computer trespass for selfish or financial gratification. Luckily, with the help of the Virginia Sex Crime Attorney, you can prove all the case’s facts leading to the arrest to show consent to access the computer and that the alleged victim is falsely accused of the crime.

Also, you can claim that hacking someone else’s computer was necessary. Your defense attorney can argue that the victim held crucial or dangerous information on their computer. The data needed to be evaluated and shared with relevant authorities for public safety. Again, when information about crimes like child trafficking is kept on a PC or network, you can assert that there was a need to hack into the trafficker’s computer or network to access the names or pictures of the victims.

Alternatively, you can argue that you engaged in cybercrime out of private necessity. You can say that you hacked into another party’s computer in a personal emergency. For example, you can claim that someone obstructed you from accessing your computer, and because you needed to retrieve crucial information, you involved a qualified hacker. Alternatively, you can commit computer trespass as a junior staff member when your manager is absent and has given you duties that require you to access their computer to be performed. It is up to your attorney to demonstrate to the court that you lacked malicious intent when you hacked into a computer. 

Sex Crimes

In Virginia, a sex crime is a sexual conduct perpetrated against another person without consent or against someone incapable of lawfully agreeing. Victims are deemed legally unable to consent to a sexual act if they are heavily intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, underage, or mentally or physically disabled. Sex offenses are categorized as misdemeanors or felonies, depending on the circumstances surrounding the arrest. Offenses like indecent exposure or virtual sex offenses are accomplished without physical contact but still amount to sex crimes.

Common Sex Crimes and Their Penalties

Several forms of sex crimes are defined under Virginia criminal statutes. Each of the crimes has a unique description and penalty. The sex offenses include:

     1. Sexual Assault

There are several forms of Virginia sexual battery based on complex facts and misunderstandings of consensual contact or touching. Simple sexual battery is classified as a Level 1 misdemeanor and happens when you deliberately touch another person’s genitals or cause someone to touch someone else’s genitals using threats or force.

Another form of sexual assault is aggravated battery. The sexual abuse happens under the following circumstances:

  • The alleged victim is below 13 years old.
  • The victim has a mental or physical disability.
  • The defendant is a legal guardian, and the age of the suspected victim ranges from 13 to 18 years.
  • The perpetrator accomplished the act through force or intimidation, and the victim was aged 13 to 15 years, sustained severe injuries, and was threatened by a dangerous weapon.

Simple sexual battery is punishable by no more than twelve months in jail or court fines not exceeding $2,500. Aggravated battery is charged as a felony that attracts a prison sentence of no more than 20 years or a monetary court fine of $100,000. 

     2. Virginia Prostitution

Solicitation, or prostitution, involves the exchange of sexual favors for money or valuable items. Prosecutors file the offense as either a felony or a misdemeanor based on the evidence and the case’s facts. If you are apprehended soliciting sex or trading sexual favors for money, you will face Class 1 misdemeanor charges. The offense is charged as a felony when it involves solicitation or human trafficking. A felony sentence attracts no more than ten years of prison incarceration and a court-imposed monetary fine not exceeding $100,000.

     3. Virginia Rape

The crime of rape involves the use of force to engage in sexual intercourse with someone else without their consent. You will face these charges for rape when you engage in or cause someone else to engage in sexual intercourse in the following situations:

  • Using intimidations.
  • Using force.
  • Using threats.
  • If the alleged victim is under 13 years.
  • Exploiting the mental incapacitation or physical disability of an individual.

Offenses related to rape include forcible sodomy, sexual penetration utilizing an object, date rape, and statutory rape. Rape and related offenses are felonies, and convictions attract a minimum of five years of prison incarceration and up to life incarceration. Sometimes, a conviction will result in a mandatory twenty-year prison sentence.

     4. Carnal Knowledge Involving a Minor

The crime of carnal knowledge involving a minor occurs when you engage in sexual assault, forcible sodomy, sexual intercourse, or oral sex utilizing an object. The age difference between the minor and the alleged perpetrator determines the preferred charges. If the victim is 13 to 15 years old and you, the suspect, are likewise a minor but at least three years older than the victim, your actions are chargeable as a Level 4 felony. Nevertheless, when the consenting underage is less than thirty-six months younger than you, the defendant, you will face Level 4 misdemeanor charges.

When the alleged sexual offense happens in a juvenile hall or juvenile custody, the perpetrator faces Level 6 felony charges. Most often, the perpetrators of these sex crimes against minors in juvenile halls are the workers or volunteers in these facilities.

     5. Child Pornography

Virginia statutes define “child porno graphy” as possessing or circulating sexual pictures of underage persons. The sex crime is charged in federal court, and authorities punish it harshly because the victim is a child. A prosecutor will secure a sentence for this charge if they demonstrate that:

  • You knowingly controlled images of a child below 18 participating in sexual conduct.
  • You distributed sexual depictions of an underage individual.
  • You produced or received descriptions of an underage person engaging in sexual conduct.

It is worth understanding that the punishment for control and distribution differs from that for producing child pornography. Distribution is punishable by a mandatory sixty months of incarceration in a state prison. At the same time, the production of sexual depictions of a minor attracts a mandatory prison sentence of not less than 25 years.

     6. Online or Computer Solicitation of an Underage Individual

Asking or soliciting a child for sex online or using a computer is a sex crime under Virginia law. The law has an enormous scope, with acts like communicating with a minor in a particular fashion leading to apprehensions. A few examples of conduct that amounts to online solicitation of an underage are:

  • Requesting an underage person to touch their genitals.
  • Touching a minor’s genitals.
  • Engaging in sexual intercourse.

When the prosecutor secures a conviction for this sex offense, you will face a prison sentence of five to thirty years and a court fine not exceeding $2,500.

     7. Infected Sexual Battery

Infected sexual assault involves virginal or anal penetration with someone else when the accused knows they are infected with hepatitis B, HIV, or syphilis. When you are arrested for this crime, the prosecutor can file felony or misdemeanor charges against you, depending on your intent. If you know you have these infectious diseases and engage in intercourse to transmit them, you will face felony charges. The offense is a misdemeanor if you spread the disease accidentally without knowledge or intent.

Sex Offender Registration Obligation

When found guilty of a sex offense in Virginia, the law imposes an obligation to enlist in the sex offender registry. Anyone can access the register, meaning that after the court finds you guilty and you are sentenced, your name and the sex crime you are charged with will be available to the public. The registration includes your photo, exposing you to the risk of an angry mob and social stigma. You cannot work or live near schools or parks because society fears you.

Offenses that require you to register as a sexual predator include, but are not limited to:

  • Rape.
  • Sex trafficking.
  • Aggravated sexual assault or battery.
  • Child sodomy or battery.
  • Incest.
  • Forcible sodomy.
  • Sexual violence.

 Legal Defenses for Sex Offenses

With the life-altering consequences of a felony sentence, you must fight the charges against you with the help of an attorney. At Virginia Sex Crime Attorney, we will review the unique elements of your case to develop solid defense strategies for a reduced charge or case dismissal. Our attorneys will use many legal defenses to contest the charges against you.

Your attorney can argue that the purported victim agreed to or consented to the sexual conduct. Most sex crime charges result from the victim not consenting to the conduct. Therefore, when accused of a sex crime with an underage individual or incapacitated person, you can claim that they agreed to the behavior.

Similarly, the purported victim did not resist, making you reasonably believe that they had permitted you to continue with the sexual conduct. The defense works because the law does not require the purported victim to cry or physically resist your behavior to show a sex crime happened.

Another valid defense strategy is asserting that you did not know the alleged victim's age but reasonably believed they could give legal consent. For example, when you meet your victim in a bar, your attorney can claim adults frequent the place, assuming the person you were engaging in a sexual act with was over 18.

Lastly, your attorney can argue that the charges against you are based on a fabricated story and that the victim lied to seek revenge or gain an advantage in a child custody case.

Sex crimes and hacking are related because criminals use computer trespass to commit sex offenses like computer solicitation and child pornography. Therefore, the prosecutor can charge you with the two crimes.

Find a Knowledgeable Sex Crimes Attorney Near Me

When you face hacking or sex crime charges, the Virginia Sex Crime Attorney can help. Our experienced and knowledgeable defense attorneys will analyze the details of your case and conduct independent investigations when necessary to develop viable defenses to prevent a conviction or a charge reduction. Reach out to us today at 571-933-8494 for a free consultation.