You want an attorney for two different reasons.  The first is to try to get the criminal charges shut down before they go much farther, especially considering the nature of the facts that you describe.  These are very serious charges, so the earlier someone helps her the better.  They may even be able to get the charges dropped.The second reason you want an attorney is in the event that the charges do get dropped, then the attorney can also help with getting the arrest removed from her record.  Even though it's not a conviction, bad arrests still have a way of haunting a young person's record.