If you have been arrested on an accusation of a sex crime, you may wonder if you can have the record expunged so that it doesn’t hinder your future opportunities. Keep reading to learn the answer.
Eligible Expunction Records
The following are the records that Texas law permits you to seek to expunge:
- An arrest for a crime that was never charged
- A criminal charge that was ultimately dismissed
- Certain qualifying misdemeanor juvenile offenses
- Conviction of a minor for certain alcoholic offenses
- A conviction for failure to attend school
- The arrest of a person who is not charged if a case is not filed and there is no felony offense arising out of the same transaction for which the person was arrested
- The arrest of a person who is never formally charged, regardless of whether the statute of limitations has expired, if the prosecuting attorney’s office certifies that the records and files are not needed for use in any criminal investigation or prosecution of another person
- Arrest, charge, or conviction on a person’s record due to identity theft by another individual who was actually arrested, charged, or convicted of the crime
- A conviction for a crime that was later acquitted by the trial court or the Court of Criminal Appeals
- A conviction for a crime that was later pardoned by the governor of Texas or the U.S. president
Expunging a Sex Offense
A sex offense may only be expunged if there was no conviction or deferred adjudication of any kind. Texas law does not allow for the expunction of a conviction or deferred adjudication for a sex offense.
As long as you are not convicted, you may petition the court to expunge the sex offense arrest and charge from your criminal record.
Whether your case gets expunged depends on several factors, such as the following, among others:
- The statute of limitations
- The reason the case was dismissed
Why You Should Not Plead Out Your Case
Since it is not possible to expunge a conviction for a sex crime from your record, it is often best to take a sex offense case to trial rather than plead out. Your chances of having your name cleared are much greater when you take the case to trial than if you plead out.
Additionally, having an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side can make all the difference in the outcome of your case. Here at Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, we are highly skilled in the defense of sex crimes and have helped many other people in similar situations clear their names. Let us see if we can help you, too. Don’t hesitate to contact our office with your case right away.
Contact us today at (214) 238-9392 to learn more about how we can help over a confidential case evaluation.