Facing a wrongful accusation for a sex crime can destroy someone’s life, yet many individuals confront false allegations on a regular basis. Since court systems tend to side with the victims in these cases, accused individuals may have an uphill battle to climb trying to defend themselves. Innocent individuals can prove their innocence of a sex crime case in a number of ways, as long as they don’t lose hope and continue to fight for their rights along the way.
DEFENSE STRATEGY IN SEX CRIMES CASES
The majority of sex crime defense strategies focus on the victim’s credibility. Proving the allegations against the defendant are false introduces the reasonable doubt needed to protect an innocent defendant from conviction. If you are wrongly accused of a sex crime, the defense will look for reasons the alleged victim might lie about the circumstances and uncover evidence to disprove the likelihood of a sex crime.
Many fabricated sex crimes take place in isolated environments without witnesses. The case involves one person’s word against the other. Other cases may involve DNA from a consensual encounter that the alleged victim later reports as rape. These cases often require building a strong case for the defendant’s past and the circumstances surrounding the alleged event. In false allegations cases, evidence such as the absence of a prior criminal record, records of previous lies an accuser has made, and the outcomes of a psychological examination may help prove the defendant’s innocence.
Why Do People Lie About Sex Crimes?
Unfortunately, people do lie about sex crimes. Vindictive spouses may use a false allegation to get back at a husband, adolescents may falsely accuse a parent, and the list goes on. Falsely accusing someone of a sex crime not only harms the accused individual, but it also harms the community. False accusations take resources away from people who really need them and cast a shadow on real victims’ allegations. Media stories surrounding sex crimes often create a sense of fear in the public.
Some of the most commonly cited motivations for wrongfully accusing someone may include one or more of the following:
- Mental illness: Someone who is mentally ill may actually believe the crime occurred, may not realize what he or she is saying or may use the allegations as a way to obtain sympathy and attention from others.
- The expectation of financial gain: In the state of California, victims of certain crimes can obtain compensation to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and other losses associated with the crime and recovery period.
- The need for attention: Some individuals will do anything for attention, including falsely accusing someone of a sex crime. This motivation may or may not go hand-in-hand with mental illness.
- Exacting revenge: After relationship difficulties, trouble at work, or other conflicts, some people fabricate lies to ruin another person’s reputation, career, or life. Many may not think about the long-term ramifications of the accusation when they make it.
Those who falsely accuse others of sex crimes are committing crimes themselves. Fabricating a criminal accusation and reporting it to any law enforcement agency or legal representative is a misdemeanor in the state of California. After the criminal trial, anyone who faces false charges can take action against the accuser in the form of a malicious prosecution lawsuit.
Everyone Needs Legal Representation
Anyone who faces false allegations regarding a sex crime needs an experienced sex crimes defense attorney. From the moment an individual reports a sex crime, law enforcement officers and others will start looking for reasons to make an arrest and build a case. Use your right to remain silent and contact an attorney as soon as you can to protect your rights and your ability to prove your innocence later.