It comes as no surprise when a child or teen is charged with a crime of criminal sexual conduct that the parent of the minor would want to become involved with the investigation. However, there is a line that can be crossed where a parent can become too involved in the allegations, and the consequences of crossing that line can end up in criminal punishment.
Recently, in proceedings out of Montana, a mother of a teenager, who was accused of raping two minor females, is facing charges of child sexual abuse. The investigation of Pamela Coleman began when she showed a co-worker a nude photo of one of her son’s young female victims. The co-worker then reported Coleman to the authorities. After obtaining a search warrant, Coleman’s phone was taken by the police and found on it were 11 photos, that were sexually explicit, of the underage female that her son was accused of raping. It was determined that the photos on Coleman’s cell phone were photos of the screen of another phone that contained the photos. Coleman faces 2 felony counts of child sexual abuse for the photos on her phone.
No matter what reasons Pamela Coleman had for being in possession of the photos of the young girl her son allegedly raped, she is still being charged with a sex crime. As a parent, the best thing you can do for your child if he or she is being charged with a crime of criminal sexual conduct is to contact an attorney who is experienced in handling those types of charges. Smith Blythe, PC is highly experienced with crimes of criminal sexual conduct and providing satisfactory defenses to those accused of these crimes. If your child has been accused of a crime of criminal sexual conduct, or if you have been charged with a similar crime, contact Smith Blythe, PC, P.C. to schedule a consultation. It is important that you do not begin acting like your child’s lawyer. It is very easy to cause major damage unintentionally in these cases and investigations.