A Proven Criminal Defense Team

Attacking the alleged victim might backfire in sex-related cases

On Behalf of | Sep 12, 2016 | Sex Crimes |

In a previous blog post, we discussed the difference between sexual contact and sexual assault. If you recall, the big difference is whether there was penetration or not. Sexual contact doesn’t involve penetration and sexual assault does involve penetration. This difference is only factor that can affect your case.

Another factor that can affect sex-related cases is consent. If you had the person’s permission for the sexual activities, there likely wasn’t a crime committed as long as the person is of the age of consent. The lack of consent is usually something that is a major component of a sex-related case. Entire cases are built on the fact that the alleged victim claims he or she didn’t consent to the sexual activities.

We know that if you are charged with a sex-related crime for sexual activities that the alleged victim consented to, you might be ready to use an aggressive defense that attacks the alleged victim. That desire is understandable, but not necessarily a good idea.

When it comes to sex-related cases, one thing that you don’t want to do is to attack the victim by having an aggressive defense that is built on making him or her look bad by calling the victim’s sexual history into question. By attacking the victim in that manner during a trial, you might unknowingly turn the jury against you. Even though that shouldn’t have an impact on the jury’s decision, it is possible that it might.

We understand the delicate issues in sex-related cases. We will work with you to find a way to poke holes in the prosecution’s case without making it seem like we are victim shaming in a way that might backfire against you.

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