Gainesville Criminal Lawyer
Kidnapping Charges Defense Attorney in Gainesville, FL
If you have taken someone without their consent, you could be charged with kidnapping. If there is any suspicion that you may have taken the victim out of the state, federal investigators will be brought in to investigate along with the local police. With this top-level investigation, you can be sure that anyone facing kidnapping charges will be up against a lot of evidence, which is why it is so important to always work with a top Gainesville criminal attorney in these situations.
In most cases of kidnappings, the victim is taken for the purpose of extorting money or the purpose of physically harming the victim. If the kidnapping involves rape, sexual assault, murder, battery or other serious crime, the criminal charges against the suspect will be increased. A Gainesville kidnapping charges lawyer can help you decide if you are better of fighting the charges or negotiating a plea bargain with the prosecution if there is a lot of evidence against you. If you are convicted of the crimes, you will not only be punished in prison, but also after your release, when you will no longer be able to vote, hold office or carry firearms. Additionally, you will often face serious social stigmatization in the form of housing and employment discrimination due to your criminal record.
In some situations, a child victim is kidnapped by a family member who has been restricted access to the child. Many people believe they cannot get punished for this because the child is related to them, or if they do get sanctioned, it will only be in family courts. Unfortunately, this crime is still a real abduction and will be handled in the criminal courts, just as if the victim were a stranger. Fortunately, Florida has a number of legal reasons for a relative to take the child without permission. If your Gainseville criminal lawyer can prove that you were, in good faith, trying to act in the child’s best interest by preventing domestic violence against the child or because the child asked you to take him or her, you may not be punished. Additionally, your attorney may be able to have the charges reduced to interference with custody, which is a much less serious charge.
If you have been accused of kidnapping, please contact a Gainesville criminal attorney from the Law Office of Gilbert Schaffnit.