Nashville Sex Crimes Attorney
These carry the longest sentences, the fewest second chances and a registry that outlasts the sentence itself. Austin Tomlinson is a Nashville sex crimes attorney who defends these allegations in Davidson County, from the investigation stage forward.
If You Have Been Contacted But Not Arrested, That Is The Moment That Matters
Sex offense cases are built long before anyone is charged. Detectives interview, request a “voluntary” statement, ask for your phone, and sometimes arrange a recorded call. Everything gathered in that window becomes the case. People who agree to “just clear it up” without a lawyer routinely hand the State its best evidence, and that cannot be undone later.
Two things, immediately. Do not speak to investigators without counsel. Do not contact the accuser, and do not have a friend or family member do it for you, because that is a separate felony and it is the most common way a defendable case becomes an indefensible one.
Sex Offenses in Tennessee and What They Carry
Tennessee separates sex offenses by the type of contact and the age of the alleged victim. Penetration offenses are graded far above contact offenses, and offenses involving a child under 13 sit at the top of the entire criminal code. Class E felonies and capital exposure both live in this same chapter.
The distinction that drives everything is penetration versus contact and the alleged victim's age. Those two facts, not the label on the arrest warrant, determine what a person is actually facing, and they are the first two things a Nashville sex crimes attorney needs pinned down.
| Offense | Core element | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Aggravated rape of a child § 39-13-531 |
Penetration, victim 8 or younger | Class A felony |
| Rape of a child § 39-13-522 |
Penetration, victim over 8 and under 13 | Class A felony |
| Aggravated rape § 39-13-502 |
Penetration with a weapon, bodily injury, or multiple actors | Class A felony |
| Rape § 39-13-503 |
Penetration by force or coercion, or without consent | Class B felony |
| Aggravated sexual battery § 39-13-504 |
Contact with a weapon, injury, or victim under 13 | Class B felony |
| Sexual battery by an authority figure § 39-13-527 |
Contact, victim 13 to 17, defendant in a position of trust or authority | Class C felony |
| Aggravated statutory rape § 39-13-506 |
Penetration, victim 13 to 17, defendant 10 or more years older | Class D felony |
| Sexual battery § 39-13-505 |
Contact by force or coercion, or without consent | Class E felony |
| Statutory rape § 39-13-506 |
Penetration within the defined age bands below | Class E felony |
Rape and aggravated rape both carry a sentencing floor above the ordinary range. A person convicted under § 39-13-502 or § 39-13-503 is sentenced as a Range II offender at minimum, and the court may go to Range III. A first offender does not get first offender treatment on these charges.
Tennessee Made Child Rape a Capital Offense in 2024
Effective July 1, 2024, Tennessee amended its child rape statutes to list death as a sentencing option for an adult defendant. Under § 39-13-531, aggravated rape of a child carries death or life without the possibility of parole, and nothing else. Under § 39-13-522, rape of a child carries death, life without parole, or life.
There is an unresolved constitutional question sitting on top of that. In Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008), the United States Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment bars the death penalty for the rape of a child where the crime did not result in the victim's death. Tennessee passed this law knowing that, as a deliberate vehicle to have Kennedy revisited.
What that means practically. The statute says what it says, the precedent says what it says, and which one governs any individual case has not been settled. Nobody should be reading a website to figure out where they stand on that. If this is the category of charge you are facing or being investigated for, you need a lawyer today, not after the next interview.
Statutory Rape Is Three Different Charges in Tennessee
Tennessee splits statutory rape into three offenses under § 39-13-506, separated entirely by the alleged victim's age and the age gap between the parties. The same conduct can be a Class E or a Class D felony depending on a birthday.
| Offense | Victim age | Age difference | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitigated statutory rape | 15 to 17 | Defendant 4 to 5 years older | Class E felony |
| Statutory rape | 13 or 14 | Defendant 4 to under 10 years older | Class E felony |
| Statutory rape | 15 to 17 | Defendant more than 5 and under 10 years older | Class E felony |
| Aggravated statutory rape | 13 to 17 | Defendant 10 or more years older | Class D felony |
Consent is not a defense to any of these, and neither is a mistake about age. What matters is the arithmetic. That is exactly why the dates get checked carefully: actual dates of birth, the actual date of the alleged conduct, and which side of a threshold both people were on when it happened.
The Tennessee Sex Offender Registry
Tennessee sorts registrants into two categories. A “sexual offender” may petition to come off the registry no sooner than ten years after supervision ends or after discharge from incarceration. A “violent sexual offender” reports for life and cannot petition off at all.
Registration is also permanent, regardless of category, for anyone with a prior sexual offense conviction or where the alleged victim was 12 or younger.
| Category | Includes | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Violent sexual offender | Rape, aggravated rape, aggravated sexual battery, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, sexual battery by an authority figure | Life, no petition |
| Sexual offender | Sexual battery, and statutory rape in defined circumstances | 10 years, then may petition |
Watch where sexual battery by an authority figure lands. It is a Class C felony, well below rape in grade, but § 40-39-202 puts it in the violent sexual offender category, which means lifetime registration with no petition to come off. The registry tier does not track the offense class, and this is the charge where people most often assume it does.
Registration is not the end of it. Under § 39-13-524, a conviction for aggravated rape, rape, aggravated sexual battery, rape of a child or aggravated rape of a child also carries community supervision for life, which begins the day the sentence expires or regular parole ends, whichever comes first. It never ends, and a violation of it is its own criminal offense.
Three 2026 Acts That Changed This Area
All three took effect July 1, 2026, and two of them apply only to conduct on or after that date. Anything you read about Tennessee sex offenses written before this summer is missing them.
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Consecutive sentencing became the presumption with more than one minor victim
2026 Tenn. Acts ch. 945 added § 40-35-115(e). Where a defendant is convicted of two or more offenses involving more than one minor victim, the court shall order the sentences to run consecutively unless it finds by a preponderance of the evidence both that the facts do not warrant consecutive sentences and that consecutive sentences would not be in the best interest of justice. Two findings, not one. The subsection also applies “irrespective of whether the multiple offenses were part of a single criminal episode,” which is aimed squarely at the argument that one episode should be treated as one course of conduct. No court has construed the new subsection yet. It applies to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026.
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Twelve new aggravating circumstances, and a new sentencing hearing for rape of a child
2026 Tenn. Acts ch. 693 added subdivisions (20) through (31) to § 39-13-204(i). Several are sex-offense specific: a position of trust or authority used to accomplish the offense, a prior conviction whose elements involve unlawful sexual contact with a minor, being on the registry or under community supervision for life at the time, filming or live-streaming the offense, using an intoxicant or controlled substance on the victim, a deadly weapon in a rape of a child case, a victim known to be mentally incapacitated or physically helpless, conduct that was especially heinous or involved torture, remuneration paid for access or for silence, and additional counts involving other victims in the same proceeding. The same act amended § 39-13-204(j)(3) so a victim's participation or consent is not a mitigating factor in a rape of a child or aggravated rape of a child case. It applies to acts occurring on or after July 1, 2026.
The third piece is the one with the most practical weight and it is easy to misread. Section 39-13-207 is the statute headed sentencing where the death penalty is not sought. By amending § 39-13-207(a)(1) to reach rape of a child, the act gives that offense its own jury sentencing proceeding with life without parole on the table, and the twelve new aggravators feed into it. This is not the death penalty being extended to rape of a child. It is a separate sentencing hearing that did not exist for the offense before.
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Patronizing prostitution was regraded
2026 Tenn. Acts ch. 959 rewrote both § 39-13-514(a)(2), which defines the four categories of subject, and § 39-13-514(b), which grades them. It also amended § 39-13-314(a)(1)(D), which is what carries the new felony tiers into the trafficking for a commercial sex act statute. Patronizing prostitution under (a)(1), or where the subject is a law enforcement officer, is a Class A misdemeanor. Where the subject is an officer eighteen or older posing as a minor, or a person who has an intellectual disability, it is a Class B felony. Where the subject is a person under eighteen, it is a Class A felony. Within one and a half miles of a school, the statute adds no less than seven days of incarceration and a fine of not less than $1,000 on top of anything else. There is no Class C or Class E tier in the new structure.
Why These Cases Do Not Work Like Other Charges
Diversion Is Off The Table For Most Of These
Judicial diversion under § 40-35-313 is unavailable for every Class A and Class B felony, and separately for the roughly fifteen offenses the statute enumerates at § 40-35-313(a)(1)(B)(ii): aggravated rape, rape, aggravated sexual battery, rape of a child, sexual battery by an authority figure, statutory rape by an authority figure, incest, aggravated prostitution, continuous sexual abuse of a child, all three grades of sexual exploitation of a minor, patronizing or promoting prostitution of a minor, and attempt, solicitation or conspiracy to commit any of them. It is still not a blanket bar on everything charged as a sex offense. Sexual battery under § 39-13-505 and statutory rape under § 39-13-506 are on neither that list nor the Class A or B felony bar, so diversion is not categorically closed there. It remains discretionary with the judge, and it is worth asking about rather than assuming away. Read that alongside the expungement point below, because the two questions have different answers for the same two charges.
The Sentencing Floor Is Raised
Rape and aggravated rape are sentenced at Range II or above even for someone with no record at all. The usual first offender arithmetic does not apply.
The Clock Can Run Much Longer
Ordinary felony limitations periods run 15 years for a Class A down to 2 years for a Class E, but an offense punishable by death or life may be prosecuted at any time. Child victim limitations have been amended repeatedly, and which version applies depends on when the conduct is alleged to have occurred. That analysis is worth doing early, because it is sometimes dispositive.
Where Sex Offense Cases Are Actually Contested
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The Investigative Window
What was said before charges, to whom, and whether it was recorded. The pre-arrest period decides more of these cases than the trial does.
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The Forensic Interview
Child interviews follow protocols for a reason. Whether the protocol was followed, and how many times a child was interviewed before it, is examinable.
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Digital Evidence
Messages, location data, device extractions. Full context frequently reads very differently from the excerpt in the warrant, and how the data was obtained has rules.
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Medical and Forensic Findings
Examination findings are often described as consistent with an allegation when they are equally consistent with other explanations. That distinction gets tested.
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Timeline and Corroboration
Where the accounts came from, when, and what independently corroborates them. Inconsistency across retellings is documented, not argued from memory.
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Context of the Allegation
Allegations arising in the middle of a custody dispute or a separation have a context the jury is entitled to hear. That is a records question, handled carefully.
Service Members and Veterans Facing an Allegation
For anyone currently serving, a civilian sex offense allegation runs on two tracks at once. The civilian case proceeds, and the command has its own authority to act on the same conduct. What gets said in one proceeding does not stay in that proceeding.
For veterans, the exposure is the clearance, the VA benefits and the career. Austin is a veteran, understands what a command and an adjudicator actually look at, and coordinates the civilian defense with what is happening on the military side rather than treating them as separate problems.
Veterans Defense OptionsTwo Proceedings, One Record
A statement given to investigators or to a command can surface in the other proceeding. Coordination has to happen from day one.
Clearance Exposure
Adjudication does not wait for a conviction. An allegation alone can begin the process, which is another reason the early stage matters.
Across Middle Tennessee
Patriot Law appears in courts across Davidson County and the surrounding Middle Tennessee counties, not only in Nashville.
Why Clients Hire Austin as Their Nashville Sex Crimes Attorney
He Takes The Pre-Charge Call
The most valuable work in these cases happens before an arrest. That call is free and it should happen the day you are contacted.
Straight Answers About Exposure
Registry category, community supervision for life, sentencing range. You will hear what you are actually facing, including the parts nobody wants to deliver.
Current Law, Not Old Law
The child rape statutes changed in 2024 and the constitutional question is live. Anyone advising on these charges from memory is working from a version that no longer exists.
Nashville Sex Crimes Defense FAQ
A detective asked me to come in and give my side. Should I?
Not without a lawyer present. An invitation to explain is an investigative step, not a courtesy, and these interviews are recorded. You are allowed to decline and to say you want counsel first. Declining is not evidence of guilt and it cannot be used against you the way a recorded statement can.
Can the accuser drop the charges?
No. The case belongs to the State of Tennessee, not to the person who reported it. A prosecutor can proceed on other evidence even if the complaining witness stops participating. This is also why reaching out to that person is so dangerous: it does not end the case and it can create a new felony charge.
Is consent a defense to statutory rape in Tennessee?
No, and neither is a reasonable mistake about age. The three tiers under § 39-13-506 turn on the alleged victim's actual age and the actual age gap. What gets examined instead is the arithmetic itself, because the dates decide the class of the offense and sometimes whether there is an offense at all.
Will I have to register as a sex offender?
It depends on the conviction. A violent sexual offense such as rape, aggravated rape, aggravated sexual battery or rape of a child means lifetime registration with no petition to come off. Other sexual offenses allow a petition no sooner than ten years after supervision ends. Registration is permanent regardless if there is a prior sexual offense conviction or the alleged victim was 12 or younger.
What is community supervision for life?
It is a separate lifetime supervision requirement under § 39-13-524 that attaches to convictions for aggravated rape, rape, aggravated sexual battery, rape of a child and aggravated rape of a child. It starts the day the prison sentence expires or regular parole ends, whichever comes first, and it does not end. Violating it is its own crime.
Can a sex offense charge be diverted or expunged?
They are two different questions with two different answers. On diversion: judicial diversion is unavailable for any Class A or Class B felony and for the roughly fifteen offenses enumerated at § 40-35-313(a)(1)(B)(ii), which run from aggravated rape and rape through sexual battery by an authority figure, incest and the sexual exploitation and minor prostitution offenses. Two charges covered here are on neither list: sexual battery under § 39-13-505 and statutory rape under § 39-13-506. Diversion is not categorically barred for those, though it is always discretionary with the judge. On expungement, the answer is worse. Section 40-32-106(d)(2) bars expunction of a diversion dismissal where the diverted offense was a sexual offense or violent sexual offense as defined in § 40-39-202, and that definition names sexual battery outright. Statutory rape lands there where there is a qualifying prior or the judge orders registration. So completing diversion on a sexual battery can end the case without ever clearing the record. A charge dismissed outright is a different situation again, and that is one more reason the early stage of the case carries so much weight.
Is there a time limit on charging an old allegation?
Sometimes. Ordinary felony limitations run 15 years for a Class A down to 2 years for a Class E, but an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment can be prosecuted at any time. The rules for offenses against children have been amended repeatedly, so which version controls depends on when the conduct is alleged to have happened. It is worth analyzing early because it occasionally ends the case.
How long does a felony sex case take in Davidson County?
Longer than most. These go to the grand jury and, if indicted, into Criminal Court, where a year to two years is common. Forensic testing, device extractions and expert review all add time. That is difficult to live through, and it is also time that gets used, because the defense investigation runs during it.