The successful results we obtain for our clients would not be possible without the thorough investigations we conduct in every single case. Whether the goal is to uncover evidence of innocence, information concerning an accuser’s motivations and credibility, or mitigating factors to explain or minimize our client’s conduct, investigation is typically the first step we take in our defense of a sex offense case.
Our firm’s lead investigator formerly worked for the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
She spent a total of 14 years as an investigator in that office and most of those were spent in their Crimes Against Children Unit where she investigated child molestation cases for the prosecution. Prior to that, she was a Special Agent with the GBI.
As a result, she has extensive knowledge as to how these cases are prosecuted and what must be done by the defense to obtain a dismissal or acquittal. Now, her wealth of knowledge and experience is utilized by our firm to help prepare the defense for each of our clients. With her help, we are able to secure the evidence that is often overlooked by the prosecution and then present that evidence to the right people, and in the right manner, to obtain the best result for our client.
Early and effective investigation is essential in the defense of any criminal case.
Generally, law enforcement officers are only concerned with discovering and securing evidence consistent with a person’s guilt. Particularly with sex offense cases, there is all too often a rush to judgment and the police rarely take the steps that are necessary to determine whether there is actually any evidence of the person’s guilt prior to making an arrest.
It is crucial that we conduct our own investigation to discover and secure any and all evidence supporting our client’s innocence. Additionally, all witnesses who could potentially assist in our defense must be discovered and interviewed. In order to discover witnesses whose identities are not known, we sometimes must canvass neighborhoods and other areas searching for them.
Start investigating the allegations made against you. Contact us at (404) 577-9557 today.
Whenever possible, we will conduct an examination of the alleged crime scene as well as have it photographed, measured and diagrammed to scale. We want to know where everything was, and how everything looked, before, during, and after the alleged offense. This can matter a great deal depending on the specific details in the statements of the accuser and witnesses.
Any and all physical evidence that can be secured must also be collected. In prior cases, we have gone as far as taking furniture out of houses to be used to recreate the scene at trial.
If you or someone you know has been falsely accused, hire him immediately…from the very moment we met with him and his investigator, we knew that we had to have him at any costs.
We will conduct a background investigation into every potential prosecution witness.
This includes looking into the individual’s criminal history, prior civil suits, allegations of misconduct at work or school, prior instances of providing false statements, psychological history records, Division of Family and Child Services records, and any other information that could affect that person’s credibility.
We will investigate the background of all the law enforcement officers involved in the case. This includes training records, disciplinary records, and internal affairs files. We also will thoroughly investigate the individuals who conducted the forensic interviews and the sexual assault examinations of the accuser(s). In many cases, we have found that the individuals conducting these interviews and medical exams have not been properly trained and lack the required experience or credentials.
Any time someone accuses another person of a crime, particularly something as serious as a sex offense, a lawyer investigating the case must look into the accuser’s possible motives.
Allegations of sex crimes may be connected to a divorce, child custody battle, difficult breakup, jealousy, money, or disputes over adultery, misbehavior, performance in school or other things. We’ll explore communications, comb through social media accounts, and thoroughly review the circumstances surrounding the allegation. This can be very helpful in shedding light on why someone would make a false allegation against our client.
In most of our cases, specialized expert investigation will also be required.
For instance, we may need a computer forensics expert to examine computer hard drives or conduct a Cellebrite analysis on a cell phone in order to extract text messages, pictures or GPS location data. In cases involving the alleged possession or downloading of child pornography, a computer forensics expert will often be necessary to examine our client’s devices and piece together the computer data that will help prove his innocence.
Often times, computer data may be difficult to extract without a computer forensics expert. This is especially true when we need to recover deleted texts, pictures, or social media communications. The sooner we can get the devices to our expert, the more successful we will typically be.
Time and again, we have found that our thorough and independent investigations have been the primary reason why our cases get dismissed and our clients are able to clear their names. We invite you to read Our Results page and learn more about how our investigations have led to the successful defense of so many clients accused of sexual offenses in Georgia.
