When you are facing false rape accusations, it is critical to learn about potential defense strategies from an experienced criminal defense lawyer in your area. While some false rape accusations may be the result of the accuser’s intentional dishonesty or fabrication, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) emphasizes that most false accusations arise out of a rape victim’s flawed memory of the specifics of the incident and failure to properly identify the perpetrator. Issues such as cross-racial identifications and traumatic memory can result in false accusations that are not necessarily an indication of false reporting, but these problematic elements of rape cases do mean that anyone who is facing erroneous charges needs to have an experienced criminal defense lawyer.
If you are facing false rape accusations, the following are all matters that you should know.
You Are Likely to Face Serious Consequences if You Are Convicted
Consequences for a rape conviction are extremely serious in all states. Although each state will have its own criminal laws concerning sex offenses, rape is likely to be a felony offense or its equivalent. As such, any conviction is likely to result in an extended prison sentence.
A rape conviction will also follow you long after you have completed the terms of your sentence. In addition to required registration on the sex offender registry for years (and possibly life), a conviction can prevent you from living in certain neighborhoods and from working certain jobs.
You Will Not Be Eligible to Seal or Expunge a Sex Offense Conviction
While different states have their own laws concerning the sealing or expungement of criminal records, nearly all jurisdictions prohibit the sealing or expungement of criminal sex offense convictions. Even if decades pass following a rape conviction, you will continue to have the conviction on your criminal record, and it will be publicly accessible. Recognizing that a rape conviction will never be sealed or expunged underscores the need to work with a criminal defense attorney to build the strongest possible defense when you are facing false rape allegations.
Multiple Defense Strategies May Be Available
Depending on the specific facts of the case and the false accusations you are facing, you may be able to work with a sex offense defense attorney to develop one or more successful defense strategies. You may be able to show that the accusations against you are false by, for example:
- Providing an alibi for the date and time of the incident
- Identifying inconsistencies in witness statements
- Obtaining DNA evidence that exonerates you
There are many additional defense strategies that you may be able to consider based on the particular circumstances surrounding your arrest. Ultimately, regardless of the charges you are facing, you need to seek advice from a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible to begin developing a plan to prove that the allegations against you are false.