Strategies for Those Accused of Sex Offenses

Many times, the sex offense charges are based on the allegations or testimony of the alleged victim. In these cases, the defense can use a variety of tactics to show that the defendant is an upstanding citizen with a history of good behavior.

 

Whether you have been falsely accused of a crime you did not commit, or you made a serious mistake in your life, you need a person who will be in your corner from start to finish. Your attorney will understand the serious nature of a sex crime, and will do everything in his or her power to minimize the consequences you will face. While your defense will depend on the crime and the circumstances surrounding the crime, below you will read about some of the common CSC defenses used in allegations of a sexual crime.

 

Strategies for Those Accused of Sex Offenses

Some of the evidence that can be used to show good character, or that it is unlikely that the defendant committed the alleged offense includes:

Lack of criminal record

Results of a psychological evaluation

Records of good grades

Evidence that shows the alleged victim previously made false allegations

 

 

In order for the prosecution to take the case to trial, they must prove to the grand jury that they have enough evidence or reason to believe that the defendant is guilty of the alleged offense. If the defense can prove that the allegations are baseless, inaccurate, or that the prosecution lacks valid evidence, the defendant could have the charges dropped before ever going to trial.

 

Defenses Used at Trial

If your attorney is unable to stop the grand jury from issuing an indictment against you, then he or she will spend the time until your trial preparing a solid defense on your behalf. Perhaps the most challenging part of a successful defense strategy in sex offense cases comes with dealing with the emotions that accompany the case. There can be deep, complex emotions in a sex crime case, which can overwhelm reasonable doubt. When the jury sees the alleged victim as a vulnerable person who has been abused by a monstrous person, those perceptions can be difficult to overcome—even if you are absolutely innocent of the charges. For this reason, having the most experienced criminal defense attorney by your side is more crucial than in any other type of criminal case. Your attorney may build your defense on one of the following common defenses in sex offense cases:

 

 

·     Actual innocence; i.e. you were misidentified, you were mistaken for someone else, or you were falsely accused as a result of revenge or anger on the part of the alleged victim. If you have a solid alibi for the time of the alleged offense, your attorney will have a much easier time with your defense. If you do not have an alibi, and you are the victim of false allegations, your attorney will have to show the jury what kind of person your accuser really is.

 

 

·     You have psychological issues which prevented you from understanding what you were doing. 

 

·     Affirmative defense—you admit you committed the offense, but because of extenuating circumstances, the offense should not be considered a criminal act. Some examples of affirmative defenses include:

 

You used no threat or force;

You did not place the alleged victim under duress at the time of the alleged offense;

The alleged victim consented to the sexual act;

In a statutory rape case, you were not more than three years older than the alleged victim.

 

 

·     If you are accused of sexual misconduct with a child, your attorney may be able to show that the child was subjected to biased and suggestive interviews, meaning the testimony was tainted. A parent, teacher, therapist or police officer may have asked the child leading questions, and the child, eager to please the adult could have answered “yes” to a question such as “Daddy touched you there, didn’t he?” The adult may or may not realize he or she is leading the child into a false answer, and may possibly be building false memories about an event that never happened. 

 

 

·     The police may have conducted an unlawful search and seizure if your alleged offense has to do with photographs or computer files. Illegally obtained evidence cannot be used against you in court.

 

 

·     Your attorney may be able to show that your accuser has specific motivation for alleging a sex offense against you, such as:

 

 

You are involved in a child custody dispute, and your child’s other parent is making false accusations of molestation or inappropriate sexual behavior in order to gain an advantage in family court. This could also happen in a contentious divorce—after all, if you are spending many years in prison, your ex will most likely receive all or most of the marital assets.

 

 

Your accuser is lying about what was a consensual sexual encounter, in order to protect his or her own reputation, or to hide a casual sex encounter from parents, other family members or friends.

 

You may have been accused of a sexual offense as a means of extorting money from you. This type of extortion is commonly seen in an employee bringing a false allegation against an employers or extortion associated with an extramarital affair.

 

 

If you have been accused of a sexual crime, you must act quickly to protect your reputation, your job, your family, and your future. The effects a conviction for a sex crime can have on your life are devastating—take the charges seriously, and contact a highly experienced criminal defense attorney immediately.