A look at the potential legal defenses to sexual assault charges

On Behalf of | May 7, 2015 | Sex Crimes |

South Carolina residents may be interested in learning about some of the common defenses to charges for sex crimes. Due to the severity of these charges, it is important to put on as strong a defense as possible.

When a person is facing a sexual assault charge, there are several possible defenses that one could use to counter them. The first and most important is the defense of innocence. There are several ways that this defense can be presented. For example, the person could present proof of an alibi, showing that they were not where authorities claim they were and could not have committed the act. Another possibility is that they were incorrectly identified as the person involved.

A second potential defense to a sexual assault charge is consent. If this consent was indeed given, this is a defense to the charges. This consent may be difficult to prove as there is usually no direct evidence of the consent. The level of proof necessary depends on the jurisdiction and the circumstances of the alleged act. For instance, if the other party is a minor, consent is not a valid defense.

The final type of defense to this type of criminal charge is to claim a mental defect or some kind of insanity. This would show that the person charged could not have known that what they were doing was wrong. Understanding the best course of action to mount a defense can be difficult without the assistance of an attorney with experience in defense against sex crimes. The attorney may be able to explain a person’s legal options and represent them at trial.

Archives

FindLaw Network