Collin County Sexual Harassment Defense Attorney
Being accused of sexual harassment can be devastating to your career, relationships, and reputation. At Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian, our Collin County sexual harassment lawyers take charges of sexual harassment very seriously, and we know how to defend against them. It is crucial to remember that every accused person is innocent until proven guilty, and everyone deserves to have their side of the story heard if they’ve been accused of a crime like sexual harassment.
Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian is the largest criminal defense practice in Collin County, Texas. Based in McKinney, we are the only defense firm in Collin County with two Criminal Law Board certified partners, a distinction achieved by only one percent of attorneys. We have successfully defended people against drug charges, assault and aggravated assault charges, white collar crimes, domestic and family assault charges, and sex crime charges.
What is important is that sexual harassment charges can be successfully defended against, and that is why you should call Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian today at (972) 369-0577 or contact us online for a free consultation to discuss your case.
Why You Need a Lawyer
If you are found guilty of sexual harassment, you could face penalties including, a Class B misdemeanor that could include incarceration in county jail for 180 days and a fine of $4,000.
However, the damage to your professional and personal reputation may be even more consequential if you are found guilty of sexual harassment. If you work in a service occupation, potential employers may not be willing to consider you for a job you are well-qualified for because of the potential liability. You may be socially ostracized, and the conviction may carry a significant stigma for years, or perhaps forever. It is absolutely in your best interest to take the charge seriously and to mount a vigorous defense. Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian want to be your advocate.
Why Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian?
It is our experience defending people charged with sex crimes which is most useful because, as with sexual harassment charges, the motives of the accuser must be carefully examined and investigated. We have seen accusers with motives like ambition, trying to eliminate the competition for an important promotion. We have seen accusations motivated by a grudge, a desire to get someone fired due to some perceived insult.
We also know accusers sometimes think charging a co-worker with sexual harassment will be a simple “it’s my word against theirs” situation. However, the victim must ultimately prove the harassment, and it is our job to make sure that does not happen.
Specific actions that can potentially get a person accused of sexual harassment are:
- Communication that requests obscene activity.
- Communicating a threat of harm and/or violence to a person, their family members or property belonging to the victim
- Communicating a report of harm, bodily injury, or death of another party that proves to be false
- Repeated phone calls designed to annoy the victim.
- Threatening, abusive, and/or annoying texts, emails, or other digital communications.
If you’ve been accused of sexual harassment, our attorneys will be there to listen to your side of the story and help you understand all of your legal options. Let us stand up for you and defend you against the charges you face.
Sexual Harassment Cases We Handle
Our experienced sexual harassment lawyers have extensive experience handling a wide variety of cases, including accusations of sexual harassment against individuals just like you in Collin County. We are prepared to help you if you’ve been accused of:
Harassment by obscene communication
Verbal, electronic or telephone communications that contain a sexual proposition, offer, suggestion, or observation are regarded as obscene communications and deemed inappropriate in the workplace. As a practical matter, there would need to be some record of the communication to meet the standards of proof in a criminal proceeding. If there is a prior intimate relationship between the accuser and the accused, that would get introduced into evidence.
Using threatening communications to harass
A threat against a coworker, delivered verbally, by telephone or electronically, that the victim believes to be reasonably credible is an act of workplace harassment. The threat must reference acts of violence and bodily harm against the victim, their family or household, or threaten to damage the victim’s property.
Harassment by false reports
To tell a coworker that a third party has suffered serious injury or death if the harasser knows the report is false and it is intended to alarm the coworker, is also a form of workplace harassment.
Using the telephone to harass
Using the telephone as an instrument of harassment is characterized by: repeatedly calling the victim and hanging up the phone when they pick up; making anonymous phone calls; or calling the victim but staying silent when the victim picks up. This form of workplace harassment must include the intent to torment, alarm, embarrass, abuse and/or annoy the victim to be considered criminal. If you knowingly allow someone else to use your phone to harass someone, you are also criminally liable for the harassment of the victim
Electronic harassment
Like harassment by telephone, harassment by electronic communications is characterized by repetition. Repeatedly sending emails, texts, disturbing pictures and/or other messages via electronic and digital means is harassment if the intent is to alarm, embarrass, abuse, torment or otherwise knowingly disturb or interrupt the victim is criminal conduct covered by the harassment statute in Texas.
In all of these cases, your attorney could mount a defense based upon the specific and verifiable behavior of both the victim and the accused over the entirety of their relationship. In general, successfully defending someone from a harassment charge often hinges of proof that the communication and/or encounter did, in fact, take place and that the accused intended to harass the alleged victim.
The waters can be further muddied by a close review of the relationship between the accuser and the accused. Were they friends at one time? Did they communicate regularly, either by phone, in person or electronically? Did any other person witness mutual teasing by both parties? Is there a record of the communications deemed harassment that can be admitted into evidence in a court of law?
Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian are skilled defenders of your rights. We know a charge of sexual harassment can be successfully defended because we have done it. The victim must prove the harassment, which is a high legal standard, but a fair one.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sexual Harassment
What is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment is physical or verbal misconduct that targets the victim based upon his or her sex. It can be between a man and a woman, a woman and a man, or even two people of the same sex. What is important is that the victim can prove the misconduct was based upon his or her sex. The victim must also prove that they were being singled out by the harasser in a way that others of the same sex were not.
Two distinct forms of misconduct are usually involved in workplace sexual harassment:
- “Quid pro quo,” where the harasser attempts to coerce a coworker into sexual acts in order to receive a promotion or other benefit, or to avoid being discharged from the job.
- “Hostile work environment.” This is persistent verbal harassment of a sexual and/or hostile nature that the employer does not remedy, making the work environment intimidating or offensive to one sex.
The misconduct can include inappropriate comments, inappropriate digital or phone conversations, repeated requests for dates or sexual contact that are repeatedly declined, stalking behavior at or outside of the workplace and other misconduct.
Is sexual harassment a crime?
Sexual harassment by verbal conduct is not a crime, but it can become a crime when it involves unwanted sexual contact as a result of force, coercion, or incapacitation. That is sexual assault, which definitely is a crime. If this kind of physically coercive behavior occurs at the workplace, inform a supervisor and call the police.
When should I hire an attorney to represent me?
If you’ve been accused of sexual harassment, it is in your best interest to hire an attorney to represent you as soon as possible. The sooner that you have legal representation behind you, the more effective their representation will usually be. Your lawyer will immediately work to defend you against these accusations and will try to minimize the impact they will have on your life and your livelihood.
Contact a Sexual Harassment Attorney
Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian has extensive experience defending those who are accused of sexual harassment in the workplace. We know that facing allegations like these can be stressful and you may feel as though no one believes your side of the story. Rest assured that our team is here to help defend you against the charges you face, and it is our job to help you get the best possible resolution to this situation. Contact us at (972) 369-0577 to schedule a confidential consultation to discuss how we can help you.