A 15-year-old boy sits in a stark interrogation room. Across the table, a detective fires off questions about his relationship with a younger classmate. The boy answers, but his words don’t seem to land right. His responses are awkward, his tone is flat, and the detective’s expression grows more skeptical by the minute.
Behind a one-way mirror, his parents watch in disbelief and fear. Their son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as a toddler. He doesn’t grasp sarcasm. He misses social cues. He takes things literally. They’ve done their best to keep him safe in a world that isn’t always accommodating of his differences, but now he’s facing allegations that could change his life forever.
If you're a parent in this position, you're not alone—and your fears are valid. At Berlin Defense in Tulsa, attorney Lee Berlin understands that when children with developmental disorders are accused of sex crimes, the stakes are incredibly high—and the legal system doesn’t always understand what your child is going through.
These cases aren’t just about guilt or innocence. They’re about communication, intent, and whether the system can recognize the difference between criminal behavior and developmental misunderstanding.
Developmental Disorders Can Drastically Alter Legal Perceptions
When your child has a condition like ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, or an intellectual disability, it changes everything about how they interact with the world—including how they’re perceived by police, prosecutors, and even judges.
- ADHD often impairs impulse control. A teen might say or do something inappropriate without fully thinking it through—not out of malice, but due to underdeveloped executive functioning. That same impulsiveness might later be interpreted as aggressive or intentional when viewed through a criminal lens.
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can impair a young person's ability to interpret social cues and respect boundaries. What looks like “grooming behavior” to a police officer might, in reality, be an autistic teen trying—and failing—to navigate a complex social interaction. Their flat tone or lack of eye contact during an interview might be misread as evasiveness or guilt.
- Processing disorders and intellectual disabilities make police interrogations especially dangerous. Children may answer "yes" to leading questions just to end the conversation. They may appear inconsistent simply because they can't keep up with the conversation. They might not even understand their Miranda rights or the seriousness of what’s happening.
All of these factors can lead to wrongful accusations or exaggerated charges—especially when adults in the legal system don’t recognize the signs of developmental difference.
You Need a Legal Strategy That Understands Your Child
Attorney Lee Berlin brings more than just legal experience to his work defending Tulsa area residents accused of sex crimes such as rape, child sexual abuse, or the distribution or exhibition of child pornography—he brings empathy, insight, and a deep understanding of how developmental disorders intersect with the law. As a former prosecutor, he knows how these cases are built—and more importantly, how to dismantle flawed narratives before they destroy a child’s future.
Berlin Defense builds tailored legal strategies that consider your child's diagnosis, history, and actual intent. Key components include:
- Psychological evaluations by professionals who understand both the law and your child’s developmental profile.
- Documentation from schools, therapists, and doctors that shows patterns of behavior consistent with their condition, not with criminal intent.
- Expert witnesses who can explain to the court how a neurological difference affects behavior, communication, and social understanding.
- Therapeutic alternatives that focus on support and rehabilitation within Oklahoma's juvenile offender or youthful offender systems.
Your Family Deserves Support, Not Stigma
For young people with developmental disorders, the justice system often offers little in the way of understanding. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Courts can be persuaded—when the right information is presented the right way—to see that what a child needs isn’t incarceration, but support, therapy, and education.
At Berlin Defense, our mission is to make sure that happens.
Your child deserves to be seen as a whole person, not just as a case number or an accusation. They deserve an attorney who will fight not just for a legal outcome—but for a future filled with possibility, not lifelong consequences.
If you’re facing this nightmare, don’t face it alone. Your child needs a voice in the courtroom that understands their world. And you need an advocate who will stand by your family every step of the way.
