Hoboken Sex Crimes Defense Attorney
Reviewed by William A. Proetta, Esq. · Updated October 2026
We defend people accused of sex offenses in Hudson County, from the first call by a detective through trial, sentencing and any Megan’s Law hearing that follows. An indictable sex charge from Jersey City, Hoboken, Bayonne, Union City, Kearny or any other Hudson town is screened by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, whose Special Victims Unit handles every sex crimes case in the county, and is heard in the Criminal Division of Hudson County Superior Court at the Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex, 24 Central Avenue, Jersey City. Disorderly persons lewdness and first-offense prostitution charges stay in the municipal court of the town where they arose. Registry matters go to the Superior Court judge designated for Megan’s Law.
Our clients include people not yet charged, people held on a complaint-warrant, and registrants convicted years ago who want a lower tier or an end to registration. I have tried criminal cases in Hudson County for more than 15 years, and the decisions that shape these cases are usually made before a charge is filed. Call (201) 793-8018 for a free, confidential review, at any hour.
Sex Crimes Charges in Hudson County
| Charge | Statute | Usual grade | Where it is heard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggravated sexual assault | N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(a) | 1st degree | Superior Court |
| Luring or enticing a child | N.J.S.A. 2C:13-6 | 2nd degree | Superior Court |
| Sexual assault | N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(c) | 2nd degree | Superior Court |
| Child sexual abuse material | N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4(b) | 3rd to 1st degree | Superior Court |
| Sexual extortion | N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9.1 | 3rd or 2nd degree | Superior Court |
| Aggravated criminal sexual contact | N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3(a) | 3rd degree | Superior Court |
| Failure to register or PSL violation | N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2; 2C:43-6.4(d) | 3rd or 4th degree | Superior Court |
| Invasion of privacy | N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9 | 3rd or 4th degree | Superior Court |
| Promoting prostitution | N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1(b)(2) | 3rd or 4th degree | Superior Court |
| Obscene material | N.J.S.A. 2C:34-2, 2C:34-3 | 4th or 3rd degree | Superior Court |
| Criminal sexual contact | N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3(b) | 4th degree | Superior Court |
| Prostitution and solicitation | N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1(b)(1), (b)(8) | Disorderly persons to 2nd degree | Municipal or Superior |
| Lewdness | N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4 | Disorderly persons or 4th degree | Municipal or Superior |
Two related charges are handled in our other Hudson sections: strangulation of a partner or household member, which is prosecuted as aggravated assault, and endangering the welfare of a child. Registration, Parole Supervision for Life, NERA and the other consequences that attach to each conviction are laid out offense by offense on our New Jersey sex crimes page; this page covers how these cases are handled here.
How a Sex Crimes Case Moves Through Hudson County
How a sex crimes case moves through Hudson County
Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office (Special Victims Unit) to the Criminal Division, Hudson County Superior Court, Jersey City
Disorderly persons lewdness and first-offense prostitution charges do not follow this path; they are heard in the municipal court of the town. Timing varies with each case.
The Special Victims Unit Investigation
Most cases begin with a report to the local police department such as Jersey City, Hoboken, Bayonne, Union City, North Bergen or Kearny police who bring in detectives from the SVU, currently led by co-chiefs Andrew Baginski and Barbara Drascheff. A recent report also activates the county’s Sexual Assault Response Team, including a nurse examiner who collects evidence at a hospital.
Over days or months, detectives collect building and bar video, rideshare records, phone location data and messages. They often arrange a recorded pretext call or text exchange, a consensual intercept in which the person who made the allegation raises the incident with you while detectives listen. An apology offered to keep the peace becomes the State’s best exhibit.
When the person who made the allegation is a child, the central evidence is usually a recorded forensic interview arranged through the Prosecutor’s Office. If the defense shows some evidence of suggestive or coercive questioning, State v. Michaels, 136 N.J. 299 (1994), requires a pretrial taint hearing at which the State must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the child’s statements are still reliable.
Arrest, the Complaint-Warrant and Detention
For sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault, AG Directive 2016-6 requires police to apply for a complaint-warrant rather than a summons, so the person is held until a first appearance. Other sex charges often start with a summons, unless a presumption applies, such as an offense committed while on Parole Supervision for Life. The prosecutor may then move for detention and must prove by clear and convincing evidence that no release conditions will do. Release almost always includes an order barring contact with the person who made the allegation, and in child cases often limits on contact with minors. We come to that hearing with a stable address, an employer letter and a plan for no contact.
Screening, Grand Jury and the Superior Court
Before indictment, an assistant prosecutor decides what to present to a Hudson County grand jury and under which subsection. That window is often the best chance to supply evidence the detectives did not collect, or to negotiate a charge that carries no registration. After indictment come arraignment, discovery, motions and trial in Jersey City. A first- or second-degree charge needs the prosecutor’s consent even to be considered for Pretrial Intervention under Rule 3:28-1(d)(1), so diversion usually depends on a downgrade.
Sentencing and What Follows
After a conviction for sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact or one of the listed child endangering and CSAEM offenses, the court orders an evaluation by the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel before sentencing.
Where Your Case Is Heard
Where your case is heard
Hudson County courts for sex offense charges and registry matters
Superior Court, Criminal Division
Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex, 24 Central Avenue, Jersey City- Every indictable charge: sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, child sexual abuse material, luring, invasion of privacy, sextortion, failure to register, fourth-degree lewdness
- Screened first by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, 595 Newark Avenue
Municipal Court of the Town/City
Jersey City Municipal Court, 365 Summit Avenue · Hoboken Municipal Court, 100 Newark Street- Disorderly persons lewdness
- A first prostitution or solicitation charge
- Harassment offensive touching
- False Imprisonment
Megan’s Law Judge
Superior Court, Law Division judge designated for Megan’s Law, Jersey City- Objections to a proposed tier, heard in camera
- Re-tiering motions by the registrant or the Prosecutor’s Office
- Applications to end registration under N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2(f)
Protective Order Hearing
Superior Court, Jersey City- Sexual assault restraining order applications under VASPA
- No criminal charge needed; final hearing within 10 days
- Testimony is under oath and can matter in a criminal case
A charge filed in municipal court can be upgraded to Superior Court, and an indictable charge can be downgraded and sent back to the town court.
A charge filed in municipal court is not always finished there. A prosecutor can upgrade a lewdness complaint to the fourth-degree form if the State claims the exposure was for sexual gratification and a child under 13 was likely to see it, and an indictable charge can be downgraded and sent back to the town court. Lewdness and indecent exposure cases in Jersey City are heard at Jersey City Municipal Court, 365 Summit Avenue, and Hoboken cases at Hoboken Municipal Court, 100 Newark Street. A first prostitution or solicitation charge follows the same split, though a patron case involving a person under 18 is a second-degree crime heard in Superior Court.
A sexual assault restraining order application under the Victim’s Assistance and Survivor Protection Act is a separate civil case in Superior Court in Jersey City. It needs no criminal charge, the final hearing is set within 10 days, and the testimony is under oath.
What We Do in the First Weeks
- Take over contact with detectives. We tell the SVU you are represented, decline the interview where that is the right call, and stop any pretext conversation before it starts.
- Preserve the record. We secure texts, app chats, call logs, location history and rideshare records, and request video before it is overwritten.
- Read the complaint against the statute. In aggravated sexual assault and second-degree sexual assault cases, one element often separates a first-degree charge from a second-degree one, or a registrable offense from fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, where an adult complaining witness means no registration.
- Look for the aggravating fact. An aggravated criminal sexual contact charge rests on one circumstance, such as a weapon or the complaining witness’s age and the accused’s role. If the State cannot prove it, the charge falls to fourth degree.
- Test the digital case. Child sexual abuse material cases turn on the item count and file-sharing settings; online luring stings on what the chat log actually says; invasion of privacy and sextortion cases on who controlled the account and the device.
- Separate the exploited from the exploiter. In promoting prostitution cases the person charged is sometimes the one being controlled, and the statute has a defense for people who were trafficked. Obscene material charges are narrower than most people assume and are often challenged on the definition itself.
Registry Matters Handled in Hudson County
Much of our Megan’s Law work comes years after the conviction. Our Hudson County Megan’s Law page covers the registrant’s duties and the tier system as applied here.
Tier hearings. The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office scores the risk scale and serves notice of a proposed tier. The registrant can object, and the Megan’s Law judge hears the matter in camera. In Hudson County, Megan’s Law tier hearings and removal applications are currently heard by Judge John A. Young, Jr. Doe v. Poritz, 142 N.J. 1 (1995), requires that hearing before Tier 2 or Tier 3 notification, and the State must prove the risk level and the scope of notification by clear and convincing evidence. Our statewide page on tiers and the risk scale explains the scoring.
Re-tiering. A tier can be revisited. We present a current evaluation to the prosecutor’s office and, if it will not agree, move for Megan’s Law re-tiering before the Megan’s Law judge. The office can also move to raise a tier, and we defend those motions.
Removal. An adult who has gone 15 years without an offense and can show by clear and convincing evidence that they are not likely to pose a threat may apply to end registration under N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2(f), unless subsection (g) bars them. Release from PSL is a separate application. We build both and ask the Prosecutor’s Office, 595 Newark Avenue, to consent before filing; see Megan’s Law and PSL removal.
Failure to register. Missing a deadline is a third-degree crime, and a move between Hudson towns, from Jersey City to Bayonne for example, requires re-registering 10 days before the move. The larger cost is often later: under In re Registrant H.D., 241 N.J. 412 (2020), an adult’s new offense inside the 15-year window permanently closes the 2C:7-2(f) path. We defend failure to register and PSL violation charges with that in mind.
Hudson County Sex Crimes FAQs
A Hudson County detective asked me to come in and give my side. Should I go?
Not before talking to a lawyer. The interview is usually the last step of an investigation that is already built, and statements made there often supply the element the State is missing.
Where will my sex crimes case be heard in Hudson County?
Indictable charges are heard in the Criminal Division at 24 Central Avenue, Jersey City. Disorderly persons lewdness and first-offense prostitution charges are heard in the municipal court of the town, such as 365 Summit Avenue in Jersey City or 100 Newark Street in Hoboken.
Will I be held in jail after a sexual assault arrest in Jersey City?
Police must seek a complaint-warrant for sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault, so you will be held until a first appearance. You stay in custody only if the prosecutor moves for detention and proves that no conditions will work.
What is a pretext call?
It is a call or text exchange that detectives arrange and record, in which the person who made the allegation brings up the incident with you. If one comes in while you know an accusation is pending, say nothing about the events and call a lawyer.
Can I get PTI on a sex offense charge in Hudson County?
A first offender charged with a third- or fourth-degree crime can apply, subject to the Prosecutor’s Office’s view of the facts. A first- or second-degree charge needs the prosecutor’s consent just to be considered, so PTI usually becomes realistic only after a downgrade, as described on our Hudson County PTI page.
Can a Hudson County registrant get off Megan’s Law?
Many can. An adult needs 15 years without any offense and clear and convincing proof of low risk; subsection (g) shuts the door on an adult with two or more sex offenses or a conviction under 2C:14-2(a) or (c)(1). Juvenile adjudications follow different rules with no 15-year wait.
Talk to a Hudson County Sex Crimes Lawyer
If a detective has called, a complaint has been served or a tier notice has arrived, send us what you have before you respond. William A. Proetta, Esq. has more than 15 years of criminal trial experience in the Hudson County courts. Call William Proetta Criminal Law at (201) 793-8018 for a free, confidential case review, or contact us online.