What To Do If Falsely Accused Of Sexual Assault
Falsely Accused of Sexual Assault?
A false allegation of sexual assault is simply devastating – a nightmare scenario for anyone and something for which no one can prepare. Unfortunately, there are many situations and circumstances that can lead to this horrible scenario: consensual contact that is mischaracterized after the fact as sexual assault; misidentification by an alleged victim; or even malicious intent on the part of the alleged victim. Not even an attorney with 30 years of experience handling these cases – as both a prosecutor and a longtime criminal defense attorney — can claim to have seen almost every scenario.
What To Do If You Are Falsely Accused
If you have been falsely accused of sexual assault, you need to start protecting yourself and planning for your defense as soon as you suspect you are being investigated. It is quite natural to believe that if you didn’t do it, you will be found innocent of the charges after an investigation. It is natural to want to”tell your side of the story,” thinking that you will be able to clear everything up quickly by enlightening the police with the truth. Unfortunately, defending oneself from these types of allegations is rarely, if ever, as easy as that. Without an attorney’s advice, you actually might be doing more harm than good to yourself and to your defense. You will need an experienced attorney to deal with these allegations head on, even if you believe the charges have no merit. One thing that you should not do under any circumstance is to agree to speak to the police without having a lawyer present.
You must begin by retaining an experienced criminal lawyer who can help you through the process of defending yourself at all stages of the proceedings. Review your rights with the attorney before speaking with anyone involving the case, including police investigators or other possible witnesses to the alleged events.
Start documenting your experience and interactions with the accuser. Try to remember and write down as many details as possible, including dates of events. Compile a list of possible witnesses to the alleged events, or other interactions you may have had with the accuser – but do not let your notes fall into anyone else’s hands. Plan for the costs of the effective defense of the charges. In addition to legal fees, please realize that investigators may need to be hired, psychological tests may need to be ordered and administered, and general discovery will need to occur. An experienced attorney will walk you through this process and will provide you the zealous advocacy you will need to protect yourself and your future.Attorney Yannetti and his associates have handled hundreds of these cases. They understand how to build a strong defense against these types of criminal charges. All former prosecutors, the Yannetti Criminal Defense Law Firm understands how the prosecution approaches these types of charges and will use this knowledge to help you protect your rights and your future.
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