Conway Indecency With a Child Defense Attorney

Charged with indecency with a child in Conway, AR? Our skilled indecency with a child defense lawyers in Conway will fight to defend your reputation and your future.

A sexual indecency with a child accusation in Faulkner County can upend your life before a single piece of evidence is tested in court.

Beyond the criminal case itself, you may be facing the loss of your job, damage to your standing in the community, restricted contact with your own children, and the real possibility of years, or even decades, on the Arkansas sex offender registry if you are convicted.

Faulkner County prosecutors and the 20th Judicial District pursue these cases aggressively from the moment an accusation is reported, which is exactly why an early, informed defense matters.

At Lemley DWI & Criminal Defense Lawyers, our Conway team includes a former prosecutor and a former police detective who understand how the state builds cases like this because some of us used to build them.

Experienced Conway indecency with a child defense attorney Kevin Lemley has led the firm’s criminal defense practice in Arkansas for more than two decades, and our approach is to build a defense specific to this charge, not a generic playbook applied after the fact.

We handle every sexual indecency with a child case quietly, thoroughly, and confidentially from the first phone call forward.

Contact us today for a free, 24/7 case evaluation.

What Is Sexual Indecency with a Child in Arkansas?

Sexual indecency with a child is a felony charge defined under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-14-110. Sexual contact, exposure, or solicitation between an adult and a minor can result in criminal charges.

This is a Class D felony, less severe than rape and sexual assault under Arkansas law, but serious enough to put you in prison and place you on the sex offender registry.

To secure a conviction, the state must prove all of the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

• Age of the accused: You were 18 years of age or older at the time of the alleged conduct.

• Age of the alleged victim: The minor was under 15 years old.

• Intent: The act was committed to arouse or gratify sexual desire.

Each element is also a target for your defense. If the prosecution cannot establish every one of them, the charge does not hold.

What Penalties Does a Conviction Carry?

A Class D felony carries up to six years in prison and fines up to $10,000. Those numbers alone change a person’s life, but the damage extends well beyond sentencing.

Any conviction triggers mandatory registration under the Arkansas Sex and Child Offender Registration Act. After sentencing, the state conducts a risk assessment and assigns a risk level that helps determine your registration requirements.

That score determines how long you must remain on the registry, anywhere from 15 years to the rest of your life.

Registration affects every job application, housing search, and interaction with your children’s school for as long as it lasts.

Facing a charge in Faulkner County? Contact our law firm for a free confidential consultation with our Conway indecency with a child defense lawyers.

What to Do in the First 72 Hours

The steps you take immediately after an accusation or arrest shape everything that follows.

Call a Defense Lawyer before Anything Else

Our phones are answered around the clock because these situations do not wait for business hours. The earlier we get involved, sometimes before charges are formally filed, the more options we have to protect you.

Stay Silent with Police and DHS

Law enforcement and Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) investigators are collecting evidence, not listening to your side of the story. Politely decline every interview request until we are with you.

Do Not Touch Your Devices

The impulse to delete messages or close accounts is understandable, but it creates a second legal problem, potential obstruction charges, and can destroy evidence that supports your innocence. Leave everything exactly as it is.

Prepare for Your Bond Hearing

Your bond hearing is your first appearance before a judge, where release conditions are set. We argue for your release under the least restrictive terms possible, pushing back against GPS monitoring, excessive bail, and overly broad stay-away orders.

How We Build Your Defense

Our team includes a former prosecutor and a former police detective. We use that insider knowledge of how the state builds these cases to find exactly where theirs breaks down.

Forensic Interview Challenges

Shortly after a report is made, the alleged victim typically gives a recorded statement during a forensic interview, a structured conversation conducted by a trained specialist at a Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC).

These interviews follow strict protocols designed to prevent leading questions from shaping what the child says. When those standards are not met, we file a motion to suppress the recording, which can eliminate the prosecution’s most critical piece of evidence.

One pattern we consistently see in Faulkner County cases involving allegations like this is a forensic interview that was recorded but never independently reviewed for protocol compliance before the state relied on it.

Requesting the full Children’s Advocacy Center file, not just the summary report the 20th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office typically provides in initial discovery, is often the first step toward identifying where an interview departed from accepted standards.

Digital Forensics

Shared devices, misattributed IP addresses, and metadata errors are among the most common sources of wrongful digital accusation we encounter. We retain independent forensic experts to examine device logs and challenge the prosecution’s conclusions before they reach a jury.

A tactic our child sexual abuse defense attorneys in Conway see repeatedly from investigators in these cases is treating a device’s presence on a shared home network as proof of who used it at a given moment. Establishing who actually had access to a phone, tablet, or account, and when, is frequently where an independent digital forensic review changes the picture the state has built.

Alibi and Timeline Evidence

Cell phone location data, work records, and surveillance footage can establish where you were when the alleged incident supposedly took place. Gathering that evidence early, before records disappear, is one of the first things we do.

Motive and Credibility

False accusations frequently surface during contentious divorces and custody disputes. We investigate when and how the allegation first appeared, whether the child’s account has shifted over time, and whether anyone had reason to manufacture or encourage it.

What Evidence Can Decide Your Case

These cases are rarely built around a single piece of proof. They depend on multiple layers of evidence, and each layer presents an opportunity for challenge.

• SANE Exam Results: A Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) is a medical professional who collects physical evidence from the alleged victim. These exams frequently yield inconclusive findings, and an absence of physical injury is common even where abuse is alleged.

• Digital Evidence: Texts, emails, browser history, and social media activity are standard prosecution tools. We bring in independent forensic experts to identify data attribution errors and chain-of-custody problems before trial.

• Witness Statements: Everyone who testifies, including the accuser, is subject to cross-examination. Inconsistencies between early statements and later accounts are often the strongest thread in a defense.

No-Contact Orders and Your Children

Once charges are filed, courts routinely bar you from contact with your own minor children. DHS may also impose a “safety plan”, an informal but enforceable arrangement that controls where you live and who can be present in your home.

Losing access to your children before anything has been proven in court is not something you should simply accept. We petition immediately to modify those conditions and coordinate with your family attorney when a custody case is running at the same time.

How Your Case Moves through Faulkner County Courts

Your case is processed through the 20th Judicial District and Faulkner County Circuit Court. We are with you at every stage.

Arrest, Bond Hearing, and First Appearance

After booking, the bond hearing is your first opportunity to address a judge. We argue for your release under reasonable conditions, and shortly after, you formally enter a not guilty plea at arraignment.

Discovery and Pretrial Motions

The prosecution must disclose all evidence they plan to use, police reports, forensic interview recordings, medical records, and digital data. We examine everything and file motions to suppress any evidence obtained without lawful authority or below the standard for admissibility.

Plea Negotiations and Trial

You always make the final decision on a plea. If no offer serves your interests, we take your case before a Faulkner County jury and hold the state to its burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

One pattern Our Conway indecency with a child defense attorneys consistently see in Faulkner County Circuit Court is a timeline built almost entirely from the accuser’s initial statement, with little independent documentation of dates, locations, or opportunity.

Building our own timeline early, while witnesses’ memories and records are still fresh, and before a client is ever moved through the Faulkner County Detention Center’s booking process, is often what exposes gaps the state’s version does not account for.

Can a Charge Be Resolved Without Sex Offender Registration?

The only routes away from registration are a dismissal, an acquittal, or a plea to an offense that carries no registration requirement.

Those outcomes are difficult, but they are what every decision in your defense is aimed at. We bring the same aggressive, detail-focused approach to every client we represent, working to build the strongest possible case toward exactly that kind of resolution.

What Your Defense Costs

We work on flat-fee pricing so you know your total cost upfront, from the first conversation, no hourly billing that compounds as the case continues. Payment plans are available because a charge this serious should never go underdefended for financial reasons.

Why Clients in Conway Choose Us

When your freedom, your reputation, and your relationship with your children are all at risk at the same time, you need a team that treats every detail as critical.

• 21+ years of criminal defense experience under founding attorney Kevin Lemley

• Insider knowledge from a former prosecutor and a former police detective on our team

• National recognition, Kevin Lemley is a member of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 and the National College for DUI Defense

• 400+ positive client reviews from people who faced exactly what you are facing now

• Conway office serving all of Faulkner County, with 24/7 availability and free confidential consultations

• Flat-fee pricing with flexible payment plans, no surprise bills

A single accusation should never define your future. Our job is to take you from this moment to a better one, one step at a time.

Skilled Sex Crime Defense Law Firm in Conway, Arkansas

When you call, you speak directly with a member of our legal team, not a receptionist. Your conversation is fully confidential, and there is no obligation attached to it.

You can call at any hour, use the contact form on our website, or visit us in person at our Conway office. You do not have to face this alone. Call 501-222-4533, available 24/7.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Should I Hire a Defense Lawyer If I Am Under Investigation but Have Not Been Charged?

Contact us the moment you suspect you are being investigated. Pre-charge involvement gives us the best opportunity to shape the case early and sometimes prevent a formal arrest from occurring at all.

Can a Child’s Forensic Interview Recording Be Excluded from an Arkansas Trial?

Yes. If the interviewer used leading questions or failed to follow accepted CAC protocols, we can file a motion to suppress the recording, removing what is often the prosecution’s most important piece of evidence from trial.

What If I Already Made a Statement to Police without a Lawyer Present?

Call us immediately so we can assess what was said and begin limiting any damage. An early statement is not automatically fatal to your defense, but it needs to be addressed before the prosecution builds their case around it.

How Does Sex Offender Registration Work for a Class D Felony in Arkansas?

A conviction triggers a state-administered risk assessment that assigns you a level from 1 to 4. Even a Class D felony can result in registration lasting 15 years or longer, depending on the score assigned after sentencing.

Can a Dismissed Indecency with a Child Charge Be Sealed from Your Public Record?

Most dismissed charges are eligible for sealing under Arkansas expungement law, which removes the record from public view.

Do You Handle Indecency with a Child Cases Outside of Conway?

Yes, we have offices in Conway, Little Rock, and Cabot, and offer virtual representation for clients throughout Arkansas.