Philadelphia Sexual Assault Lawyer
Do you need help? Call Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan for compassionate and empathetic legal guidance.
- Home
- Philadelphia Sexual Assault Lawyer
Philadelphia Sexual Assault Lawyer
Sexual assault is a big issue. The national non-profit, RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), contends that as many as 433,648 individuals aged 12 and up in our country are sexually abused each year. Data from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office shows that its Family Violence & Sexual Assault Unit prosecutes around 2,000 sexual assault cases annually. If you’re one of those unfortunate victims, reach out to a Philadelphia sexual assault lawyer in our office.
While we don’t make decisions regarding criminal prosecutions of sexual predators, we do advocate for victims who’ve been subjected to unwanted and inappropriate treatment like rape, incest, molestation, and similar types of abuse. Pennsylvania law may allow you to file a civil lawsuit against the person who hurt you or your vulnerable family member or someone else whose actions led to you suffering harm.
A meeting with one of our compassionate attorneys is completely confidential and free, so reach out to our firm to schedule that consultation now. It’s the first step toward regaining control over your life once again.
What Qualifies as Sexual Abuse?
Any non-consensual sexual acts may qualify as a type of assault, including the following:
- Sexual harassment
- Rape (including statutory rape)
- Electronic recording and dissemination of sexually explicit material of minors or adults (such as the creation of deep fake videos or revenge porn)
- Sexual battery
- Child sexual abuse
Also, the following Title IX violations, go against federal anti-discrimination laws and occur in a government-funded educational setting, may qualify as this, including:
- Sexual assaults occurring on campus
- Sex-based discriminatory treatment
- Sexual harassment in an academic environment
- Retaliation against those who make complaints about abuse
The list above isn’t exhaustive. So, definitely don’t feel you can only reach out to us if you’ve suffered sexually oriented mistreatment, including the Title IX violations above.
Where Do Sexual Assaults Most Commonly Happen?
This illicit action can occur almost anywhere. While situations like these can occur in someone’s home, attorneys like ours at Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan regularly handle cases in which this unsolicited sexual contact occurred at:
- Churches and other places of worship
- Schools, including colleges and universities
- Daycares
- Massage parlors and spas
- Workplaces or while on the job
- Nursing homes
- Doctor’s offices and hospitals
- Jails and prisons
- Summer camps
- Stores and other retail outlets
The truth is that perpetrators of these acts seek out opportunities to take advantage of victims anywhere they can, so if there’s a window of time and space, if they’re intent on inflicting abuse, it’s, sadly, going to occur.
Successful Results For Our Clients
We get results for our clients, because that’s what really matters. Over the course of four decades in combined trial experience, our dedicated work injury attorneys have secured hundred millions of dollars in compensation for injured workers. You deserve justice.
Who Commonly Perpetrates Sexual Assaults?
Over the years, our lawyers have represented clients who’ve been taken advantage of by the following individuals:
- Pastors, priests, and other religious leaders
- Teachers, professors, and other school administrators
- Coaches
- Customers
- Nurses, doctors, and other healthcare providers
- Work colleagues and supervisors, including service members
- Babysitters
- Police officers and prison guards
- Camp counselors
- Police and other members of law enforcement
- Home services professionals (like plumbers and internet or cable installers)
If you’ve suffered what you deem to be inappropriate sexual contact while interacting with any of the individuals above or someone else, such as a caregiver or person in a position of authority, consider reaching out to our legal team to discuss it. We know how difficult it can be to re-open wounds you’ve sought so hard to mend, but doing so once more is necessary to seek justice for what you’ve been through and to ensure what someone did to you doesn’t repeat the same and hurt someone else.
Why Does This Unwanted Sexual Activity Occur?
Perpetrators see a window of opportunity to take advantage of others:
- This may happen because they’re left to care for a child alone, they notice someone following a certain pattern when exiting an office building at night, or because a person is deaf or immobile, making it challenging for them to get attention or fight off the advances.
- The targeted victims are in a position of vulnerability. This is often why this sexual abuse targets minors, those with mental or physical impairments, the incarcerated, the elderly, and employees, as they all may have certain limitations or be in a subservient role.
As you can likely tell, there’s no justification for this adverse treatment, whether it occurs for the reasons listed above or any others.
Steps To Take After a Sexual Assault
Traumatic situations like these often make it challenging to think clearly; thus, knowing what steps to take afterward can be hard to think of. Here’s what you should do, though:
“Our trauma informed attorneys understand the painful emotions caused by sexual abuse. Fear, anger, shame and depression are all natural reactions that we empathize with. We are here to listen, believe you and see that justice is done. You deserve answers.”
Guy D’Andrea, Co-Managing Partner
Why Victims Often Delay Reporting the Mistreatment They Endured
Often, the abuse that victims have endured has long been left to fester. It’s not uncommon for those who were assaulted as children not to address that mistreatment until they’re adults. It may be some time after an adult is sexually abused before they come forward and say anything, or it becomes apparent to others. Why is this?
Depending on the ages of kids, they may not understand between right and wrong to know what happened shouldn’t have. By the time they understand that as teens or adults, this may be when they finally come forward and say something.
Some victims may have been told by perpetrators not to say anything. They may only gain the courage to do so through the encouragement of a mental health counselor because others step forward and make similar allegations against the person who hurt them or because their abuser becomes incarcerated or dies, for example.
While the thought of coming forward may seem crippling to you at this point, it’s the first step in the right direction to taking back your life and living it on your own terms. Reporting what happened is necessary so you can get the treatment you need to feel better and so the person who harmed you can be brought to justice.
Understanding the Impact Unwanted Sexual Contact Has on a Victim
Non-consensual sexual activity, however incidental it may seem to others, may have a significant adverse impact on victims’ lives. Victims are often at a higher risk for:
Meet Our Attorneys
-
540Guy D’Andrea Guy D’AndreaAreas of Practice
- Boarding School Abuse Cases
- Bullying & Hazing Cases
- Clergy Abuse Cases
- Personal Injury
- School Abuse Cases
- Sexual Assault
- Shooting, Homicide & Assault Cases
- Victims of Crime
-
541Stewart Ryan Stewart Ryan -
1540Alexandria MacMaster Alexandria MacMasterAreas of Practice
- Boarding School Abuse Cases
- Bullying & Hazing Cases
- Clergy Abuse Cases
- Personal Injury
- School Abuse Cases
- Sexual Assault
- Shooting, Homicide & Assault Cases
- Victims of Crime
-
1538Michael McFarland Michael McFarlandAreas of Practice
- Boarding School Abuse Cases
- Bullying & Hazing Cases
- Clergy Abuse Cases
- Personal Injury
- School Abuse Cases
- Sexual Assault
- Shooting, Homicide & Assault Cases
- Victims of Crime
-
11959Alexandra Stulpin Alexandra StulpinAreas of Practice
- Boarding School Abuse Cases
- Bullying & Hazing Cases
- Clergy Abuse Cases
- Personal Injury
- School Abuse Cases
- Sexual Assault
- Victims of Crime
Treatment Options Exist for Those Who Have Been Sexually Assaulted
If you’ve suffered abuse, the most common approach used to deal with that treatment is mental health counseling. There are varying approaches used to treat depression, anxiety, guilt, shame, eating disorders, addiction, and other conditions that you’re struggling with.
Since many individuals who were assaulted were caught off guard by what happened and were expected to return to life as normal as if nothing bad ever happened, mental health therapists often find that the issue that’s most pressing for them is that they never finished processing the traumatic experience, which is necessary for it not to linger on as a nagging concern in their minds and lives.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has been praised as helping those who’ve been sexually assaulted finish processing what they’ve been through, which can have tremendous positive implications for their overall mental health.
There are, of course, other treatment options that may be appropriate depending on what you have endured and your symptoms, so it’s certainly important for you to discuss those options with an addiction specialist, a mental health counselor, or a psychiatrist.
Recovering Compensation for What You Have Endured
Receiving mental health counseling and other treatments you may require to help you cope with your assault can be costly. Expenses associated with what you went through could be even higher if you received treatment in an emergency room, diagnostic testing, or needed to take time off from work after your traumatic experience.
Know that Pennsylvania law may allow you to recover compensation for all these above-referenced costs (and more) by filing a civil lawsuit against your abuser and anyone who played a role in allowing them to commit such acts.
It’s also important that you know that, like most other civil actions, there’s a statute of limitations, which is a filing deadline that applies to filing a lawsuit in cases like these. This is why it’s imperative that you reach out to a Philadelphia sexual assault lawyer to discuss the merits of your potential case as soon as possible. Doing so will ensure your abuser’s bad acts don’t go unpunished.
A consultation with one of our attorneys at Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan is confidential and free. So, there’s no reason to not reach out to our law firm to find out what your rights are now. In addition to handling cases in Philadelphia, we also handle sexual assault cases throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Who We Represent
Sadly, sexual abuse can happen to anyone. Oftentimes, companies and institutions attempt to protect predators by sweeping reports of sexual assault under the rug. These companies also have been known to avoid media attention and investigations by law enforcement.
Unfortunately, sexual assault occurs in many settings, including:
- Religious Organizations
- Schools
- Universities
- Boarding Schools
- Day Care Centers
- Mental Health Treatment Facilities
- At Risk Youth Facilities
- Hospitals/Doctors’ Offices
- Massage Therapy Businesses
- Sport’s Teams
- Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation Facilities
No business or profession is immune from these horrific crimes. Sexual predators often hide behind the walls of an institution. Let us expose them and effectuate change by holding the organizations that allowed the assault and abuse accountable.