
RAPE
Other than murder, being accused of rape can have lasting effects on you professionally and psychologically. If convicted, you may be subject to a long prison sentence and will also face registration under the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry laws. Having to register as a sex offender, which is required in many instances where a conviction enters for certain offenses can have a devastating impact for your family & employment. In this way, a sex-crime conviction can follow you for the rest of your life. Over the few years I have successfully tried to Superior Court 3 not guilty verdicts and have negotiated 2 serious rape allegations that were ultimately dismissed by the District Attorney’s Office.
You basically have 3 defenses to rape
- The first defense would be to deny that any sexual assault occurred. This can happen when the victim is not credible, and therefore there is a reasonable doubt regarding whether a crime even occurred.
- The second defense would be to admit that a sexual assault occurred, but to deny that the defendant did it. Stranger rape or stranger sexual assaults often involve photo-array, show-up or lineup identifications. Doubt may also be cast upon the Commonwealth’s DNA or other scientific or forensic evidence, since there may have been problems with the collection, preservation or handling of trace materials. This actually occurred during a rape trial I had at the end of 2010 and is highlighted below.
- The third defense is consent. An alleged victim may call an incident rape or sexual assault after the fact, when in reality it was a consensual sexual act at the time. These tend to be cases where the parties know each other from work or school. These cases frequently arise during college parties. A few years ago I successfully defended a Worcester State basketball player who was accused of such an incident.
It is important to note that a person is unable of giving consent to intercourse under the age of 16. This is called Statutory rape and unless it didn’t happen, consent CANNOT be a defense.
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I have had tremendous success in the area of my practice and understand what needs to be done in order to increase your chances of obtaining a successful result. If you have questions, please contact me at my office at (508) 791-9001 or by cell phone at (508) 769-7995. You may also e-mail me criminaldefenseworcester@gmail.com or text me. I take great pride is a very quick response time and will promptly schedule a free initial consultation at your convenience. I have also begun to conduct quite a few meetings via FACETIME or SKYPE for those clients who are either out of state or have license issues.