5 Ways To Present A Defense Against Sex Crimes Allegations
The feeling you may need to hire a sex crimes lawyer is a tough one to confront. It's important if you've been accused of a sex crime, though, to start thinking about potential defenses. Here are 5 ways a sex crimes attorney might choose to present your defense.
It Didn't Happen
This is a defense clients need to be careful with. It's a strong defense if you're 100% sure you weren't in the same place as your accuser at the time of the allegations, but if there's any room for interpretation about where you were or what happened, this is a defense that has the potential to crumble quickly.
There Was No Crime
Arguably, this is one of two defenses. The first defense is essentially a concession that certain events that were sexual in nature did happen, but none of them can be classified as crimes. A second defense hinges on the notion that nothing sexual happened but other events did.
Consent Was Provided
This defense presents a couple of possible challenges. Foremost, some sexual interactions are illegal regardless of consent. The most obvious in this category is statutory rape. In statutory rape cases, it doesn't matter whether the victim consented or that the defendant had a good-faith belief that the victim was of age.
Generally, a consent defense is built around evidence that the alleged victim was enthusiastic about what was going to happen. A sex crimes lawyer might present texts showing the two parties invested significant planning into setting up a date with the intent of having intercourse, for example. Photos and videos, especially ones posted by the accuser, may bolster a defendant's case, too.
Questioning the Physical Evidence
Most prosecutions of sex crimes include some amount of physical evidence. Semen and hair, for example, are sent to laboratories for analysis. A sex crimes attorney can raise questions about the chain of custody. Perhaps a police detective didn't properly inventory swabs. Any failures to document possession of the lab items can also advance this sort of argument.
One different approach is to question the tests. A particular test might have been used, and a sex crimes attorney will dig this info up during the discovery process. If the test has a high rate of false positives, the defendant may convince the court that the evidence can't be presented in a fair trial.
Bargaining for a Lesser Charge
Some defendants may want to consider pleading guilty to a reduced charge, preferably a non-sexual one. Bargaining a sexual assault down to a simple assault, for example, could keep the defendant off a registry.
Reach out to a sex crimes attorney to learn more.
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