Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Re: indecent assault

Indecent assault is misdemeanor of the second degree punishable by 1 to 2 years in prison. Under some circumstances (when a child is invovled with an adult actor), IA is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by 2.5 to 5 years.

When a person is charged with IA, a, arraignment is scheduled & a bond is set. Soon, a preliminary hearing is scheduled and the actor is fingerprinted. The prelim is an extremely important procedure through which the defendant can learn what the case against him/her is about...how strong is it? The prelim also provides teh defendant an opportuntiy to make a deal with teh commonwealth.

For a more indepth discussion on what happens when someone is arretsd, please call or go to my website listed below & click on the criminal law button/criminal process.