What to Do After Being Falsely Accused of a Sexual Assault

There are several crimes in this world for which each day innocent people are charged with. If for some cases, misjudged or suspects are let go, many wrongful accusations and charges end up getting administered in the system. There is a difference between being targeted as a suspect due to the wrong judgment of the authorities and being accused of a crime by an individual that was not committed. And while misjudgments of the authorities can be cleared easier, accusations are difficult to remove. For these false charges, you end up going to jail and serving the penalty. Especially if a case is of sexual assault.

Sexual assault cases are handled strictly by law enforcement and are, most times, credible accusations from weaker victims. Evidence can be easily made up for these crimes and presented in court for the jury to believe. If there is enough evidence, no plea or statements from your side will be taken into account.

Thinking that these charges don’t mean a thing as you haven’t committed the crime, and there is no proof, is being ignorant. The law can be bent from sides, and more good people are suffering in the world than are bad. For this reason, once you’re charged with a hefty crime as sexual assault or abuse, you need to start preparing to defend yourself in the best way that will have the authorities believe you than anyone else. The following comprehensive guide can help you in this journey:

Remain Calm

The alarming news that you got accused of sexual assault from an individual you barely know can come as daunting and angering. The authorities may take you in for questioning as soon as they are informed. At this time, you may feel like bursting out with emotions and firing up as you are questioned again and again of the assault.

However, anything you do in such a situation will only stir up evidence against you that can be used in court to confirm the charges. For this reason, staying calm and reserved is mandatory. Also, it would be best if you made sure not to disclose anything to police officers or answer their questions without a lawyer. They could question you in such a way that makes you judge yourself of wrongdoing or try to twist your statements as malicious ones.

Analyze the Situation

Being arrested or accused of a sexual assault case is no joke. It can become a serious life problem for you if you don’t take it seriously at the start of the case. If you’re to not respond to the charges, you can be in a prick as you’d have to pay a heavier penalty and become fully understood as a criminal. So it’s best to adhere to the situation going on now than dealing with worse results later.

Arm Yourself

Once you’re attacked with the claim, everything will start to look like war. Things will happen quickly, and before you know it, you are in front of the jury. Before this happens and you hire a lawyer to handle the case for you, make sure to get some knowledge on your own. Know your rights to defend yourself in court.

You should depend on no one, even if it’s your attorney. You have to learn to defend yourself in a way that helps you come out of the charge with an as little penalty as possible. Others will help you with their own motives for money or something else, so make sure you know some tricks up your sleeve.

Take Notes

As the case begins, several incidents will occur where you are face to face with the accuser or are called by law enforcement to make statements. You can note down all these incidents and create a timeline of all the events that took place. These notes will help you keep track of how the case goes and find some dirt on the accuser. Write down about all the meetings with the accuser and note down every detail of it.

Devise the Costs

If you want to come out of the charge of sexual assault or abuse clean and prove the accuser wrong with all their evidence, you will need some spending money. The amount can vary depending on the severity of the case. You will need some dough to pay the lawyer with. You may also need to take some tests to prove innocent along the way. Whatever it takes, you must be willing to prove your innocence and save yourself from paying several in fines for which spending some on these case-handy things is practical.

Acquire the Necessary Help

Educating yourself is good and knowing which path to take to clear your charge is great to have a far sight in your case; however, you will need some help to make the journey easy. This can be the tests and procedures that prove your disconnection in the case including, psychological and polygraph testing.

You can also hire private investigators to get information from the accuser’s side about their plotting against you. There are various other types of help that you can embrace to help make your case easier to fight and get justice for yourself.

Talk to an Attorney

Don’t just trust ANY lawyer to handle the case satisfactorily. All false accusations, even sexual assault cases, are different from each other, and no one can be handled like the other. For this reason, you will need to scout out the best lawyer who can understand and manage your case well through different complications. Find a capable Los Angeles Criminal Attorney who you can communicate well with you and understand and also trust you entirely to side with you strongly in court.

There are several more duties of an attorney towards you, and all of them need to be completed so that a case can be solved without hindrance. Your lawyer should talk to law enforcement on your behalf and not let them challenge you in any way. He/she must also present your good image in the court and keep going like that until the end. A reasonable attorney for you will be one that has a history of building strong cases and meeting the needs of each one. Other responsibilities of a lawyer are that they take care of hate from the side of the accuser and negotiate with the prosecutors as well. They must also check the charges filed against you and the intensity of them.

Start Gaining Evidence

Evidence can be your most potent weapon when defending against false accusations. You can gather pieces of evidence related to the accuser and prove your innocence. These can be anything from chats between you and them, pictures, possessions that prove something for your integrity, or anything that is worth a debate. With this, you can turn the case against your accuser and hopefully get the whole charged removed. You can also ask your lawyer about the type of evidence you must gather to build your case to a strong one.

Bring in Witnesses

No matter what, with every criminal case, there are some witnesses or people who support you through the way. The testimonies of these people matter a lot to the point and, if enough, can help you remove the charges. You can start by creating a list of anyone who can say something in your favor. You can give this list to your lawyer and have them call everyone professionally to provide their statements to aid the case even a bit. Even If you think some people are unimportant or inobservant to your matter, they may turn out to be prime witnesses of the case, so make sure to add everyone.

Seek Psychological Aid

Being held against a crime that was not your fault or was accused of you can be mentally daunting to deal with. The accused can receive tremendous hate, especially if the case is related to sexual assault or harassment of a weak or minor individual. People won’t think twice before calling you a criminal once you have been approved of being felonious by law enforcement.

All this can be mentally disturbing and exhausting to deal with. Most people even develop some disorders that haunt them for life; that’s why the stress needs to be dealt with along with the case. Make sure also to get therapy for yourself to stay as sane as possible for fighting your charges in court and keep your health in check.

Listen to Loved Ones

When the whole world is accusing you and making you a criminal due to someone’s mere accusations, it can feel lonely and dark. At this time, you must stay close to as many people as possible. This can help you to stay resilient and unbothered by the accusations and rude behavior of the public and some close friends who turn their backs on you. You must stay close to loved ones to take advice from them as well so that you don’t end up hurting yourself in the claim.