Accused of A Sex Crime, You Did Not Do – Here is What To Do

Facing a false allegation of a sex crime is serious. As a matter of fact, it is a terrible and essentially life-changing experience – not only for the victims but also for those who have been falsely accused of the crime. Each one might struggle for the rest of their lives. If you have been falsely accused of a crime, you should expect severe consequences, such as losing your reputation, your job, and even close relationships. 

Nonetheless, if you are falsely accused of a crime that you did not commit, you must do the following:

Keep Silent

The first thing you must do is to keep silent. In other words, getting accused of a crime that you did not commit is hard; however, you should know that whatever you say or do after the accusation can be used against you. Your best bet is to remain silent and not talk about the false accusations or the case to anyone but your lawyer. 

The worst you can do is to offer an explanation to the accuser or offer an apology. You must resist the temptation to apologize or explain yourself to people. By apologizing or explaining, you won’t be making anything better. The truth is that you will only be making things worse. Your apology or explanation will be viewed as your admission of the crime.

What is An Admission?

Suppose you are charged with a crime, such as a sex crime; anything that you say to your friends, family, or social media is called an admission. This aspect indicates that after the charges, you must be vigilant and guard yourself against reacting and explaining yourself because whatever you say will be used against you. 

Even the slightest things that you say can be twisted, turned around, taken out of context, and presented as proof of the crime that you are charged with. 

Beware the Controlled Phone Call

It is important to mention here that the phone call you get from the person or the accuser is not from the person but from the police. Of course, the accuser will be the one talking to you from the other end of the phone – but everything is being recorded, which means that it is a recorded phone call. The objective of the phone call is to make you admit to the crime or at least apologize.

Once you apologize, you are essentially admitting on some level to the offense, which is why you have to be careful. 

Quickly Hire A Lawyer 

Once you know that you have been accused of a sex crime, you must drop everything else that you are doing and talk to a lawyer. You shouldn’t talk to a general lawyer but an expert lawyer who deals with sex crimes in the location where the alleged crime took place. For example, calling the San Antonio Sex Crime Defense Lawyers is your best bet if you live in San Antonio and have been charged with a sex crime. 

Here is the thing: sexual assault cases in all of their forms, such as date rape, child molestation, and sexual assault – all of them are different. In fact, these various forms of sex crimes are all different from any other criminal case, which means that you do need a specialist. At the time of interviewing the lawyer to take up your case, you must keep in mind that the lawyer will have your back and act as a buffer. 

Ask the Lawyer Questions 

The lawyer is your advocate, which is why you need a lawyer to talk to child protective services, the police, the potential victim’s family, and the prosecutor. This aspect also illustrates why you need a lawyer to talk to the general public and emphasize your innocence.

To determine whether or not a lawyer is right for your specific case, you must ensure that the lawyer is experienced and really a specialist for your case. Ideally, the lawyer should be a specialist with expertise in sex crime cases, so you must interview them and ask them questions, such as whether they can tell you about the forensic interviewing protocol. 

You might as well want to ask them about their opinion on the standard expert if the child is very young, such as five years old, and making the accusation. You can also ask them about their team, such as nurses and medical experts who could testify for things, if needed. Ask the lawyer about how they will go about defending you and the specific accusation. 

Write A Timeline of Events

Even before you approach an attorney for your defense, you must do some homework, establish a timeline, and write down the events as you remember them. Your memory won’t be as good as today after two weeks or two months. Right now, when you have been falsely accused of a crime, things are still fresh in your mind, which means that you can create a timeline and write down things as they occurred. 

You get the point: you must do the homework, sit down, and establish a timeline as you remember things. Try to get as much information as you can about the allegations. Write down all details as you remember them, such as names of witnesses, people, and others that were there or that you were with. 

Write Down Locations, Time, Activities

When it comes to creating a timeline, you must get the details right. The tiniest details, such as location, apartment type, event type, receipts, and people you interacted with – all of these things matter and are critically important towards helping you and your lawyer. In these details, your lawyer will unveil the key piece of evidence that will form the ground for your freedom and acquittal of the charges. 

Understanding the Gravity of Sex Crime Cases

You must also talk to your lawyer about testing, as sex crime cases are no ordinary crime cases. If you are wrongfully accused of this crime, you need to go on the offensive and blow the charges out of the water. With the help of an attorney, you want to defeat the case as soon as possible. So, you must talk to your lawyer about testing, such as taking a polygraph. If you pass the polygraph, present it to the prosecutor and police to establish your innocence. 

You can also get yourself medically tested to determine whether you have any evidence that the sexual assault occurred.