Sault Ste. Marie, MI asked in Criminal Law for Michigan

Q: If there's no evidence of the crime my brother is being charged with should he take a plea or go to jury?

They are charging him with criminal sexual material which they have no evidence for and accosting a minor..he was a pizza delivery guy and a electronic order was placed for pizza and he was sent to deliver it. When he got to the motel room he was arrested and told he'd been texting a girl from his phone which he wasn't. They have no evidence of this and he's really confused about how he's been accused of this. They even took his car which nothing was ever done in or with his car..please I'm just confused, concerned and looking for a bit of information

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2 Lawyer Answers
Brent T. Geers
Brent T. Geers
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Grand Rapids, MI
  • Licensed in Michigan

A: From which source are you hearing there is no evidence? A jury can only convict based on evidence presented at trial. If there is no evidence, or he is innocent, then the logical choice would be to go to trial. But I suspect the prosecutor has a very different take on whether evidence exists, and by this point, your brother and his attorney likely do as well.

Ultimately, it's your brother's choice to make. Your brother knows in his heart whether this happened on not, and he should decide accordingly.

Nicole Blank Becker
Nicole Blank Becker pro label Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Troy, MI
  • Licensed in Michigan

A: When it comes to charging a suspect with possession of, or distribution of, sexual material, there must be evidence of the visual depiction of a minor (which, in Michigan is 18 years old when it comes to computer crimes). The minor has to be engaged in sexually explicit conduct and those images were mailed, sent over social media, emailed, etc. This crime is a felony.

A person who "accosts" a child less than 16 years old (regardless of whether the person knows the age of the child) with the intent to induce/force that child to commit an immoral act (i.e. sexual intercourse, gross indecency, etc.) or if a person encourages a child under 16 years old to engage in any immoral act as stated above, can be found guilty of a felony.

Typically, if a phone was used, i.e. text message, social media, email, that is Evidence of the crime.

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