Protect your rights, contact us today!
Protect your rights, contact us today!
A sex crime charge carries some of the most severe consequences in the criminal system: years in prison, lifelong sex offender registration, and lasting damage to your name, often before a case is ever decided. Attorney Gregory Chancy defends felony and misdemeanor sex offense charges, protecting your rights from the first contact with investigators and building the defense the accusation demands. Every conversation is confidential. Call (770) 627-3221.
A sex offense case often begins before any charge is filed, with a detective’s call or a request to come in and talk. This is the most dangerous moment, and it is when the right move matters most. What you say to investigators, before you have a lawyer and before you know what they have, can become the foundation of the case against you.
The consequences of a sex offense accusation begin immediately, separate from any conviction. An accusation alone can cost a job, strain a family, and damage a reputation while the case is still unresolved. That is why these cases have to be taken seriously from the first phone call, and why speaking with a defense lawyer before speaking with investigators is the single most important decision early in the process. The earliest days, before charges are even filed, are often when a defense can do the most to change where a case goes.
Sex offense charges range from misdemeanors to among the most serious felonies in Georgia law, and each carries its own elements the state must prove. The firm defends charges including rape, sodomy and aggravated sodomy, statutory rape, sexual battery and aggravated sexual battery, child molestation and aggravated child molestation, enticing a child, sexual assault, and internet sex crimes such as online solicitation and charges involving illegal images.
Each of these is defined by specific elements, and each has points where the state’s case can be challenged. Some also carry mandatory sentencing and registration consequences that make the difference between charges enormous, which is why identifying exactly what is charged, and whether it can be reduced to something that avoids those consequences, is the first step in any defense.
The penalties for a sex offense conviction are severe and depend on the specific charge. Felony sex offenses carry years and in some cases decades in prison. Aggravated sexual battery under O.C.G.A. § 16-6-22.2, for example, carries a sentence of 25 years to life followed by probation for life. Most felony sex convictions also carry heavy fines and lifelong supervision.
Beyond the sentence, the sex offender registry is often the most far-reaching consequence. Under O.C.G.A. § 42-1-12, a conviction for a qualifying sex offense requires registration, and for the most serious offenses that registration is for life. The registry is public, restricts where a person can live and work, and requires regular in-person verification. It follows a person long after any sentence is served. Because avoiding a conviction that triggers registration is often the central goal, the difference between charges, and any chance to reduce them, matters enormously. In limited circumstances, a person already on the registry may petition for removal under O.C.G.A. § 42-1-19.
A sex offense defense is built on the evidence, the accusation, and the conduct of the investigation. Many of these cases rest heavily on one person’s account with little or no physical evidence, which puts the credibility, consistency, and possible motive of the accusation at the center of the defense. The defense examines whether the account has stayed consistent, whether there is a reason to fabricate or exaggerate, whether the contact was consensual where that applies, and whether the accused has been mistaken for someone else.
The investigation itself is examined just as closely. How evidence was gathered, whether searches and digital forensics were done lawfully, and how any interview was conducted can all be challenged. In internet cases, the reliability of the digital evidence and whether the person charged was actually the user involved become central, and entrapment can be an issue in sting operations. Forensic interviews of a child, medical findings, and the timing and circumstances of the first report are all examined for what they do and do not actually show. Building this record early, before the state’s version hardens into the accepted story, is what gives a defense its strongest footing, and it is far harder to do once the case has been shaped without you.
Gregory Chancy, Esq. is the attorney and founder of Cobb Defense, and he handles these cases personally, with the discretion they require, from the first call through resolution. He earned his law degree from John Marshall Law School in Atlanta and has practiced law in Georgia since 2017, and he is an Active Member in Good Standing of the State Bar of Georgia with no public discipline on record. He is a member of the State Bar’s Criminal Law Section, along with the Cobb County Bar Association, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Bar Association. Before law, he spent more than fifteen years in engineering, a background that shapes the methodical way he examines the evidence in a case.
Clients work with attorney Chancy himself, not a rotating cast of staff, and every case is prepared as though it will go to trial. You can verify his license and standing with the State Bar of Georgia. Consultations are always free and confidential.
No. Most serious sex offenses such as rape, aggravated sodomy, sexual battery, statutory rape, incest, and child molestation are felonies, but some offenses such as public indecency and prostitution are misdemeanors. The classification depends on the specific charge.
Many sex offense convictions require registration, and in serious cases that registration can last for life. It applies based on the specific charge, and avoiding a conviction that triggers it is often a central goal of the defense.
Some sex offense records can be restricted or expunged, but many serious convictions cannot. Charges such as rape, child molestation, and sexual battery generally cannot be removed even when classified as misdemeanors.
Speak with a lawyer before speaking with investigators. These cases often begin with questioning before any charge is filed, and what you say early can shape the entire case. You have the right to have an attorney present.
There is a limited period during which most sex offense charges can be brought, and certain serious charges carry a longer window. The exact period depends on the specific offense.
The Law Office of Gregory Chancy handles sex offense cases across its service area. Call (770) 627-3221 to confirm the office covers your area and to set up a confidential consultation.
A sex offense charge has consequences that begin the moment you are accused and can last a lifetime, so the sooner the case is reviewed, the sooner a defense can take shape. Call (770) 627-3221 for a confidential consultation with attorney Gregory Chancy, or use the form on this page. Every conversation is private, and the first call costs nothing.
If you have questions about your case or need immediate legal assistance, please complete the confidential contact form.