There are many different criminal charges that the law can bring against you. Some of them are more serious than others. However, any time you break laws, you risk severe consequences.
Even if the courts do not convict you of the crime the police accuse you of committing, you might still lose your job, your family’s trust, your savings, and more. You might lose your community standing. It’s not fair, but that’s the way it is sometimes.
Let’s look at four criminal charges that can negatively change your life.
Sexually-Based Crimes
In some states, like Arizona, even the lowest level sex crime conviction will get you at least a year in jail. Some sexually-based crimes are:
- Prostitution
- Sexual assault
- Indecent exposure
Everyone knows that things like rape and sexual assault are wrong and that you should always make sure the other person consents before you do anything with them. However, you should also watch out for things like public sex or public urination.
The police might catch you and charge you with a sex crime rather than being nice and letting you go. That’s why you should think twice before urinating in public, engaging in public sex, engaging in lewd behavior, etc.
You have to conduct yourself according to societal laws and norms, and that’s always the case concerning sexual matters. If the cops catch you, they will probably put you on the sex offender registry as well as send you to jail.
Robbery or Burglary
There are different reasons why people rob or steal. They might:
- Have a drug habit or addiction
- Need money for rent, food, or utilities
If you have a drug addiction, and it has gotten to the point where you are considering robbing someone or burgling a house or business, you know you need help. It has gone too far, and you must seek treatment and get clean.
Some people who face desperate situations feel like they have to rob someone or break into an establishment. The pandemic has caused many to lose their jobs this year, and some think they have to make choices like this.
No matter how bleak your situation, you can’t break the law to try to get money. Ask your family for help, keep hunting for a new job, or even max out your credit cards if you have no alternative. You might feel like you have no good options, but when you break the law, you almost always make things worse.
Violent Crimes
You might have a violent temper. Maybe you drink and then hit your family members. Perhaps you get too rowdy when you’re out in public, and you start bar fights.
No one likes living with someone who hits them, pushes them, kicks them, etc. That’s not an appropriate way for you to ever show them how you feel. You should never even raise your voice to a family member, let alone strike them.
Perhaps you grew up that way, and it’s what you know. You have to break that cycle, though, or you could lose your family. They might also report you to the police, and you might face felony assault charges.
If you’re a problem drinker, you need to get that under control as well. If you hit someone in a bar, and they fall and fracture their skull, they could die. Now you’re looking at manslaughter charges and a length jail sentence.
Fraud
People might not think about fraud like it is as bad as assault, robbery, etc., but it’s still something you need to avoid. It’s a white-collar crime, but you can still face jail time if the police catch you.
There are many fraud varieties, like insurance fraud, for instance. You might need money, so you claim that someone broke into your house and stole your possessions when that never really happened.
There’s tax fraud, where you try to claim some tax write-offs that you embellish. You might try to hide your income, so you don’t have to pay taxes on it.
Even though you feel like these are harmless crimes, you can still face severe penalties if the authorities catch you. Don’t assume you’re smarter than them or that they have better things to do than come after you.
Any time you engage in criminal behavior, you risk messing your life up. The best thing you can do is walk the straight and narrow, and don’t ever fracture so much as a single law.
