What To Do if Accused of Sexual Assault

What To Do if Accused of Sexual Assault

Being accused of sexual assault is one of the most serious charges a person can face. Getting labeled as the perpetrator of a sex crime is enough to ruin relationships, cause job opportunities to evaporate, and prevent a person from otherwise living their life — and that is just from the filing of criminal charges.

Unfortunately, a false allegation is often enough to tar someone in the court of public opinion, unless they can successfully fight the charges. Even worse, false allegations are far more common than you might think. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, it is estimated that between 2%-10% of all cases of sexual assault either did not happen as described or have accused the wrong person of the crime.

What to Do if Accused of Sexual Assault

If you believe you have been falsely accused of sexual assault, you don’t have time to wait for the prosecution to define you and build their case against you. Even if you think that you did nothing wrong or you believe that any sex you had was consensual, you need to act as soon as possible when accused of sexual assault. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you prepare to combat the charge:

Remain Calm, But Act Quickly

When you are the victim of someone’s decision to falsely accuse you, it is natural to worry. However, this is not a case where you want to panic and choose the wrong law firm to handle your defense. At the same time, you also don’t want to wait around to find a sex crimes defense lawyer when you have been accused of sex crimes. This is the time to take advantage of a free consultation and choose an experienced criminal defense lawyer to handle your case.

If you believe you have been falsely accused of sexual assault, finding an experienced rape defense attorney should be your top priority. Once you are ready to discuss with a criminal law expert, you need to call Attorney Nicole Blank Becker at (248) 515–6583 or fill out the sidebar free consultation form to explain the details of your legal situation. This is a great first step toward protecting yourself through the criminal justice system.

Do Not Speak to Anyone About the Allegations Without Your Lawyer Present

One thing many people want to do when they believe they have been falsely accused of a sex crime is tell their side of the story as quickly as possible. It sounds like a great idea in theory. After all, why keep anything hidden if you know you did not do anything wrong?

However, sexual assault cases are almost never that simple. In most cases, if a detective calls you and you speak to them, or you contact the alleged victim to try to clear things up, it will only make matters worse. Even if you are under the impression that what you say is considered confidential, anything you say could be taken out of context and used against you. Whether it is domestic violence, child abuse, or another sex crime, in no scenario is it a good idea to talk to law enforcement without your attorney there to help you avoid sticky situations. Always make sure to have your lawyer present before you agree to answer questions or make statements.

Keep Friends and Family Out of the Loop

This might seem counterintuitive, especially when you are facing such serious criminal charges. Why wouldn’t you want the help of family members when you have been falsely accused of csc charges?

The answer is simple: you don’t have any way to know if someone has tapped the call. You might think a friend or family member is calling just to check on you and offer support, but they might be calling you on a recorded line that police are trying to use to trap you. The state Supreme Court chose not to clear up whether the state requires one-party consent or all-party consent for recording phone calls in Michigan, making it very unclear if these tactics can be used against you. Thus, police still use it to this day.

The vague nature of the law means a lawyer who is experienced with sex crimes could argue against a recording being used in court without your consent; but you don’t want to chance that possibility to a judge’s opinion on that particular day. It is far better to assume you are being recorded and decline to discuss your case without your attorney with you.

Prepare Yourself and Your Lawyer for All Possible Scenarios

Once you have decided which attorney you want to help you fight against being accused of domestic violence, date rape charges, or or any other sex crime, you need to make sure you are as prepared for court as possible. One great way to do this is to develop sexual assault defense strategies with your lawyer. Go over how the prosecution might plan to press the alleged assault and what information you can use to defend yourself.

If you have got documentation that can prove your innocence, you and your lawyer can make it a centerpiece of your strategy. For example, a credit card charge at a brick-and-mortar establishment can confirm where you were when the alleged attack took place, proving that you could not have been in the same place as your accuser.

Even if you don’t have anything that cut-and-dried to prove your explanation of events, any information you can give your attorney can help you establish your credibility and innocence. If you think you can state something that is in any way helpful to your case, be sure to let your defense attorney know. You likely don’t know the minute details of criminal law, but your criminal sexual conduct attorney will, and something that seems small to you might give them the start they need to help you win your case and protect your freedom.

Be Completely Honest About Your Case with Your Attorney

Anything you say to your attorney is protected by your attorney–client relationship, so your meetings and correspondence with them are the times to explain everything to them in as much detail as possible. Once you begin working with your attorney, anything you say to them is protected. So, if you have sensitive information that could be critical to the case, be sure that you share it with them right away.

By the same token, if you think one of the possible witnesses might be problematic for your case, it is a good idea to give your attorney any details about their background. Sometimes, especially in a case where it is impossible to prove which person is lying and which is telling the truth, good sex offender lawyers focus on the credibility of the witness rather than the content of their testimony. When the jury does not trust a witness to give a truthful account of what took place, they are not likely to fend for that side during the trial. Giving your attorney as many details about a witness as possible can help them find a weakness that can discredit their testimony and protect you from a false allegation.

Keep All Case-Related Correspondence Private at All Times

One of the worst things you can do in any case, whether it relates to sex crimes or another branch of the law, is allow information to fall into the wrong hands. You have likely seen examples on television dramas of one side gaining access to proprietary information that the other side possesses; and when the program reaches that part of the trial, the big surprise falls flat because the opposing side was well prepared for the bombshell.

That is usually overdramatized for Hollywood’s purposes, but the underlying truth holds: if your information gets lost and the other side finds it, they can use it for their own purposes to try to prove their case or discredit your strategy.

For this reason, you should keep all documents in the possession of your attorney’s offices once you have chosen the law firm you want to defend you. You should also make sure that all correspondence with anyone else stays between you and the intended recipient, as prosecutors could be trying to intercept communications between you and a message contact.

Taking the Charges Seriously from Beginning to End

Several cases have been lost simply because the accused failed to take the sexual assault charges seriously enough until it was too late. The fact is that sexual assault is always a serious accusation; and when you are facing serious criminal charges like these, you need an experienced attorney in your corner.

Hire Blank Law, PC to Handle Your Sexual Assault Case

What sets Attorney Nicole Blank Becker apart from other criminal law experts in Michigan is her wealth of experience with sex crimes and what Michigan law says about them. Her experience as a former prosecutor means that she knows how the other side thinks and can plot an effective and aggressive defense strategy to help you beat the charge(s), fully exonerate you, and move forward with your life.

If you are in need of legal assistance in the face of a sexual assault charge, do not waste any time!

Contact Attorney Nicole Blank Becker at (248) 515-6583 or fill out the contact form that sends information on her website.

Nicole’s experience and legal counsel can be the difference between protecting your freedom in the face of a false accusation and having to cut a plea deal for a crime you never committed.

*Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in the contact form. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting the contact form does not create an attorney-client relationship.