Sexual assault charges often deal with very intimate circumstances that often have to do with only two people. This can make it difficult for you to prove that you didn’t the crime of which you were accused. That doesn’t mean that it is impossible, but it can mean that you will have to work through challenging issues as you build your defense.
If you didn’t commit the sex-related crime, you might opt to work on showing that you aren’t guilty of the crime. This can be done in several ways, but one of the most effective ways might be through DNA evidence if that evidence proves that you weren’t present for the crime.
An alibi is another possible defense option. In this case, you would likely need evidence that showed you were somewhere else when the assault occurred. For example, if you could show that you were at work or in another city when the assault happened, that would be a good alibi.
If you did have sexual contact with the alleged victim, your defense would have to show that the act was consensual. That can be difficult because of the lack of witnesses that usually occurs in these types of cases. Of course, consent wouldn’t matter in some cases, such as when the alleged victim is a minor or unable to legally consent.
Building your defense in any sex-related case means that you will need to introduce doubt about what the prosecution is claiming occurred. This often take a firm, but delicate, defense because you don’t want to make it seem like you are attacking the alleged victim as part of your defense.
Source: FindLaw, “Sexual Assault Defenses,” accessed Sep. 28, 2016
