There are several things you should do when facing a false allegation of sexual assault. Sexual assault is devastating. For the victim of sexual assault, it is a life-changing experience as this can mark a serious turnaround in their life, causing them to struggle with what happened for the rest of their life.
However, on the other hand, it is equally devastating to be falsely accused of the crime of sexual assault. Understandably, the consequences of this allegation are severe and instant.
The Dire Consequences of False Sex Crime Allegation
As a result of being falsely accused of a sexual assault crime, you can experience a loss of reputation and loss of standing in your community. Also, you can lose your job, and if you are married, your family might cut you off. You may also not be allowed to go pick up your kids from daycare or school.
There might be loads of whispers in your neighborhood behind your back. You get the point – being accused of a crime that you did not commit is already bad. But – if the allegations involve sexual assault, then you are prone to face dire consequences.
There must be many things going on in your mind when you first get to hear of such accusations.
The question is: what do you do when you are accused of a crime of this dire nature?
Resist the Temptation of Explaining Yourself
The most important rule that you must follow is to hire a lawyer who exclusively deals with such a case. For instance, you might want to get in touch with the Texas Statutory Rape Attorneys if you are from Texas. Once you have done that, you must understand that your lawyer is the only person you are talking to about this case.
Don’t argue with the police, your neighbors, or the accusing party. Understandably, the initial reaction that you are going to have when dealing with a false accusation is to offer an explanation and tell everyone that you didn’t do it.
Perhaps you get to the point where you end up offering an apology. The thing is that whatever you say can be used against you, which is why you must resist the temptation to speak and keep yourself in check.
Don’t Take the Accuser’s Phone Call
Once you know that you are accused of sexual assault, resist the urge to take the phone call from the accuser. Now, the accuser can be anyone: the girl that you met at the bar last night, your ex-wife who is filing for divorce, your ex-girlfriend, the father of your niece, etc.
Now, this phone call is not from the person you think it is. The phone call is more likely from the police. Certainly, the person on the phone will be the person that you know, but it is a controlled phone call being recorded.
The purpose of this phone call is to have you either admit or apologize for what you did.
Why To Only Let Your Lawyer Talk
Sexual assault cases exist in different forms, such as child molestation, sexual assault, date rape, etc. All of these cases are different. In fact, sexual assault cases are more different than any other criminal case than a theft or property crime.
Simply put, to deal with such an allegation, you need a specialist lawyer on your side. When interviewing the potential lawyer whom you choose to hire, keep in mind that the lawyer is a buffer. Everything the lawyer says is not an admission – but everything that you say is an admission.
Your lawyer is your advocate, which is why you need to let the lawyer talk to the police or the potential victim if they are contacting you. You need to let the lawyer talk to the prosecutor, too. The lawyer will also be talking to the public and declaring your innocence.
How to Find a Specialist Lawyer
Now that you know the importance of hiring a lawyer and letting them do all the talking, you might be wondering how exactly you can find the specialist you need. The best and easiest way to find the specialist lawyer you need is by talking to them and asking them questions.
For instance, you might want to ask the lawyer whether they have a sexual assault nurse examiner expert or an OBGYN who can testify for things such as damage to the genitals. Ask the lawyer how they will go about defending such a case and what potential techniques they use.
You get the point – to find a specialist lawyer, you must ask probing questions. Also, it might help to ask the lawyer their general philosophy on whether or not I should testify in my own defense at trial when charged with sex crime.
Take Notes of the Timeline
Even before you hire an attorney to help you drop the false charges, you need to sit down and take notes of what actually happened. The thing is that your memory is not going to be as good as it is today versus two weeks or one month from now.
So, for your best interest, take the time to sit down and establish a timeline while trying to jot down as much information as you can about what happened at the time when these allegations occurred. Write down everything you remember, including the names of the witnesses and what the witnesses can say.
Include all potential details, such as where you were at that time and who else was there with you. For instance, if the accuser was at a Christmas party and says it happened there, take notes of the location of that party and what else was happening at the party.
All of these details are critical and can help you establish the difference between freedom and imprisonment.
Final Thoughts
Again, keep in mind that anything you say after you get to know that you are accused of a sex crime can be used against you. So, don’t talk about the case with your friends or co-workers. Because if you do so, it will be treated as an admission, which will then be used against you. Even the slightest things can be twisted and warped out of context.
