Jerald Schreck

Jerald Schreck is an award-winning criminal defense attorney in private practice in Phoenix, Arizona. Prior to entering private practice, he was the supervisor of the Sex Crimes Trial Team at the Maricopa County Public Defender's Office where he practiced for approximately twenty-four years. He has concentrated on the defense of persons charged with sex crimes for over twenty years. During that time he has been involved in the defense of college students, teachers, medical professionals, law enforcement officers, corrections officers, attorneys, parents, juveniles, group home workers, coaches, religious leaders, athletes, day care workers and corporate executives on a wide variety of sex crimes allegations and cases ranging from child molestation to sexual exploitation of a minor to child sex trafficking. Based on his experience defending sex crimes charges, Jerald has been recruited to teach sex crimes law and practice trainings to lawyers and law students throughout the state of Arizona. His trainings have been presented to many different legal organizations in Arizona, including Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, the Arizona Public Defender's Association, the Mojave County Bar Association, the Maricopa County Adult Probation Department, the Maricopa County Public Defender's Office, and ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor School of Law. The sex crimes trainings Jerald has conducted include Sex Crimes 101, the Sex Crimes Defense Conference, Schreck on Rape Shield, Sex Crimes and Punishments, Registration or Regret for Juvenile Sex Crimes Practitioners, the Good, the Bad, the Ugly: What's New in Sex Crimes Law and Legislation, Let's Talk About Sex Crimes, You Do The Math - Calculating the Sentence in a Sex Crimes Case, Chicken Soup For the Sex Crimes Litigator's Soul, and Latest Developments in Defending Sex Crimes. Given his experience, Jerald is the sex crimes litigator you need if you are facing sex crimes allegations in Arizona.

Southwestern Law School

J.D. (1994) | Law

1992 - 1994

University of California - Los Angeles

B.A. (1992) | Political Science

1988 - 1992

Owner-operator

The Schreck Law Firm

Current

The Arizona Sex Crimes Sentencing & Registration Chart

The Schreck Law Firm

January 1, 2019

Miranda Land - An interactive presentation about Miranda Rights Law and Voluntariness Law, Gideon Day Celebration, Florence Arizona

March 20, 2024

Pinal County Public Defenders' Office

Taught an update version of Mirada Land to the Pinal County Public Defenders' Office as part of their Gideon Day Celebration. Miranda Land is an interactive board game that helps presentation participants learn about Miranda Rights and Voluntariness Law while competing in a fun game.

Giveing Your Client A Road Map To Sucess On Sex Offender Probation, 16th Annual APDA Statewide Conference, Tempe, Arizona

June 21, 2018

Maricopa County Office of the Public Defender

This course was a panel discussion with Mr. Schreck and a former sex crimes probation officer about how to prepare your clients for sex offender probation.

Mirandaland - An interactive presentation about Miranda Rights Law and Volunariness Law, 16th Annual APDA Statewide Conference, Tempe, Arizona

June 21, 2018

APDA

This interactive presentation utilized a gameboard and game cards akin to Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit to teach the attendees about Miranda Rights Law and Voluntariness Law.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - What's New in Sex Crimes Law & Legislation, 16th Annual APDA Statewide Conference, Tempe, Arizona

June 21, 2018

APDA

" #MeToo Effects Your Sex Case Too" was the theme of this presentation that explored how the "Me Too" movement has impacted sex crimes judicial decisions and legislation since October 15, 2017 when Alyssa Milano tweeted about sexual harassment and sexual assault awareness giving a deserved voice to survivors of sexual abuse. The presentation explored everything from the how the evolution of propensity evidence in the Coby trials to sentencing in the Larry Nassar case to the future of jury selection in sex cases in new the post #MeToo world, and how we as defense attorneys will need to adjust to a new normal in defending against sex crimes allegations.

Introduction to Sex Crimes, Sex Crimes Defesne Conference, Phoenix, Arizona

November 26, 2018

Maricopa County Office of the Public Defender

This course was an introduction to Arizona sex crimes defense practice with a special emphasis on sex crimes being a specialized area of practice that lawyers need to understand in order to ethically represent a client facing sex crimes and punishments.

Certificate of Completion of Adult Assessment Track

National Associtation for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers

2008

Certificate of Completion of the Intervention, Treatment, Managment of Youth who Engage in Sexually Abusive Behavior Track

National Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers

2007

Completion of the Defender Impact Leadership Conference

National Legal Aide & Defender Association

2005

Diploma in Advocacy Skills

National Institute for Trial Advocacy

2004

Completion of the Trial Practice Institute

National Criminal Defense College

2001

Certificate of Completion of DWI Detection and Standarized Field Sobriety Training Program

National Highway Safety Administration Approved Program

1996

The Sixteenth Annual Joseph P. Shaw Award

M.C.P.D.

2010

In recognition and appreciation of extraordinary dedication and efforts on behalf of his clients.

Outstanding Performance Award

A.P.D.A.

2010

In recognition and appreciation of his commitment to excellence and the provision of high quality legal representation.

American Bar Association

Member

2019 - Current

Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers

Allied Professional Member

2019 - Current

Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice

Member

2017 - Current

Natonal Association of Criminal Defense Laweyers

Member

1997 - Current

Arizona State Bar

Member

1994 - Current

Arizona

State Bar of Arizona

ID Number: 016006

Since 1994

United States District Court District of Arizona

Since 1995

• Free Consultation
  Mr. Schreck charges a consultation fee for sex crimes cases given the unique complexity of such cases.
• Credit Cards Accepted
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  I charge a flat fee or an hourly rate depending on the complexity of your case. You will know exactly what your cost will be when you hire the Schreck Law Firm.

• Sex Crimes Defense
• Juvenile Sex Crimes Defense
• Sex Offender Probation Modification Requests
• Sex Offender Registratin Advice & Representation
• Defending Against False Allegations of Child Sex Trafficking

Q. I was on an adult only website and came across a minor. What do I do?

October 17, 2024

A: This is a fairly common situation people run into in the internet age. Sometimes it is an actual minor on an adult web site, other times is a fraudster attempting to extort money from site visitors and frequently it is a police officer posing as a minor working on an undercover task force. As a protective measure, my general suggestion is that you cease visiting all dating websites and chat rooms. I know this sounds extreme, but I am a criminal defense lawyer in Arizona and have had countless clients, many of them very good people, who have lost their liberty, property and careers after becoming entangled in a situation like yours.

In Arizona, we often see people that come across minors on adult websites charged with a crime. Charges are filed whether the person is a precocious minor lying about their age to gain access to the website, or a police officer posing as a minor. Usually, my clients that come across minors on websites are charged with luring a minor for sexual exploitation, in violation of A.R.S. § 13-3554. This is a serious crime with serious penalties, including registration as a sex offender for life and a mandatory prison sentence, with a range of 2 to 8.75 years. This sentence may seem harsh, but it is the least extreme sentence for a luring offense, and only applies if the minor is fifteen to seventeen years old. If the minor or police officer posing as a minor is under fifteen years of age, then my clients are charged with a dangerous crime against children (DCAC) and the prison range pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-705(G) is a minimum sentence of 5 years, a presumptive sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of 15 years, and the sentence is a flat time sentence. Typically, my clients are charged with DCAC because the undercover officers posing as minors begin their online conversation posing as adults, and after they get the person to take the bait, they invariably weave into the conservation that they are under the age of fifteen.

My specific advice to you involves a set of magical phrases if you are ever contacted by government agents about your online interaction: 1) I am invoking my Fifth Amendment Right to Remain Silent and 2) I am invoking my Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel. Additionally, I advise you to deny any request by law enforcement to search your property. If officers have a warrant, then you will be unable to stop them from searching and seizing items specified in their warrant, and you should get out of their way. However, complying with the warrant does mean you are obligated to give them any information like phone or computer passwords because a warrant does not mean you give up your Fifth Amendment Right to Remain Silent.

A final suggestion is that you contact a criminal defense lawyer immediately. Lawyers practicing in your jurisdiction in the field of sex crimes defense may not be able to stop you from being charged with a crime, but often the cases I obtain my best result on are those where I was contacted by my client before the police came knocking at their door. ... Read More

Q. Does sexual abuse include a male making a minor strip naked?

November 3, 2020

A: The elements of the crime of Sexual Abuse in Arizona (A.R.S 13-1404), regarding minors, depends on the age of the particular minor. If the minor is fifteen or more years of age, then sexual abuse is committed when the accused, without consent engages in sexual contact with the minor. Sexual contact is defined as "any direct or indirect touching, fondling, or manipulating of any part of the genitals, anus or female breast by any part of the body or by any object or by causing a person to engage in such conduct." However, if the minor is under fifteen years of age, the illegal behavior is limited to sexual contact with the female breast, consent is not an element, and sexual contact with the genitals or anus is classified under the more serious offense of child molestation.

So, regarding the question posed of does sexual abuse include making a minor strip naked, that question cannot be answered without more details involving the offending behavior. If the minors' genitals, anus, or breast is touched directly or indirectly, or the minor is instructed to touch their own private parts or breast, then the offender during the minors' act of stripping naked, would be committing the crime of sexual abuse. If the there is no sexual contact involved in making a minor strip naked, that still does not mean the behavior is legal. I can think of a variety of crimes a male making a minor strip naked could be committing. One example would be if the male photographed the undressing of the minor, then he could be charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Minor (13-3553), or, Just the simple act of a male ordering a minor to strip in front of him could be charged as Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor (A.R.S. 13-3612).

The bottom line is that an experienced criminal defense lawyer would need to know more to answer your question. For example, was the male making the minor strip as part of his caretaker responsibilities? If so, then any lawyer experienced in sex crimes defense, like we are at the Schreck Law Firm, could explore the viability of a caretaker defense to a charge of sexual abuse.

If you were the male engaged in the hypothetical activity, it would be advisable to seek legal counsel immediately, and if you were the minor subjected to the hypothetically illegal activity as described in the question, then you should immediately discuss your victimization with your parents, your school counselor, and your local law enforcement office. ... Read More