Fighting Your Georgia Sex Crimes Charges

Facing False Sex Assault Accusations in Atlanta?

Being accused of a sex crime can be a life-altering experience. At The Berry Law Group, we understand that false accusations and misunderstandings happen. We see it all the time. There are a number of reasons someone may falsely accuse another of sexual abuse. Situations involving jealousy, revenge, or abuse may result in serious finger pointing.

Just because a claim is false, however, it still needs to be taken very seriously. Many sex crimes are felonies and even a misdemeanor conviction could land you on the sex offender registry. The Georgia statute, Section 16, Chapter 6.1, lays out the penalties for a rape conviction:

(b) A person convicted of the offense of rape shall be punished by death, by imprisonment for life without parole, by imprisonment for life, or by a split sentence that is a term of imprisonment for not less than 25 years and not exceeding life imprisonment, followed by probation for life.

How to Fight a Sex Crime Accusation

The actions you take immediately after being accused of a crime can have a major impact on your future. Your first instinct may be to try and tell your side of the story to the police in hopes of clearing your name. You may believe that staying silent or demanding a lawyer may make you appear guilty. However, speaking to the police without an attorney present can be hugely detrimental to your case. The police are experienced in interrogating suspects and manipulating them into making self-incriminating statements. It is critical that you have an experienced sex crimes defense attorney present during any conversations with police. It is the job of your lawyer – not the police – to ensure that your rights are protected. Furthermore, the earlier in the process that you retain a lawyer, the better your prospects will be.

Aside from talking to the police, there are other behaviors you should avoid. You may want to confront your accuser and demand to know why they are lying. This is almost always a bad idea. These types of encounters can be unpredictable. And you do not want to appear to be harassing or threatening an alleged victim. Even text messages exchanged with the other party can be used against you.

In addition to consulting with an attorney what other steps can you take? You should try to preserve evidence that can be used in your defense. This could include exculpatory texts and e-mails or proof of an alibi. It is important that you recall and document the events surrounding the alleged incident. You should present these to your lawyer. Every case is unique, so your lawyer will review your circumstances and help you determine the best possible legal strategy.

Georgia Sex Crimes Defenses

There are a number of grounds on which your attorney can base your defense. Each case is different and your individual circumstances must be assessed before a determination can be made. However, some of the most common defenses to sex crimes accusations include:

Consent

In the state of Georgia, most sexual contact between consenting adults is legal. To prove crimes such as rape and sexual battery, it must be shown that the sexual intercourse or contact was nonconsensual. Sometimes it can be tricky to establish whether or not consent was given. Physical and verbal cues can be misinterpreted. When drugs or alcohol are involved, consent can be even more difficult to judge – or misjudge. An experienced defense attorney knows what type of evidence to look for to establish consent, such as statements and messages from the accuser.

However, consent is not a defense when it comes to some crimes, such as statutory rape, child molestation and sexual assault by persons with supervisory or disciplinary authority. According to Georgia law, children and people in certain vulnerable positions cannot legally consent to sexual contact. In addition, people who are unconscious, asleep, or intoxicated are also largely considered unable to give consent.

The Crime Never Took Place

In some cases an accuser may make up an assault that never occurred. If this is the case, your lawyer – and, hopefully, the police – will seek evidence disproving the allegations. This could involve surveillance video, eyewitness testimony, or contradictory accounts by the alleged victim. It is up to the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime took place. If there is no evidence, there should ideally be no conviction.

Mistaken Identity

In other cases a crime has occurred, but the perpetrator is misidentified. Eyewitness identifications are notoriously unreliable, as demonstrated by the numerous convictions that have been overturned since the advent of DNA testing. In situations in which drugs or alcohol are involved, or an assault takes place in a darkened environment, it can be difficult to identify an attacker. Forensic evidence or a documented alibi may be able prove that you have been wrongly accused of a crime.

The Accuser Has Malicious Motives

It is important for allegations of sexual assault to be heard and, in most cases, taken seriously. In the past, victims of abuse have often been blamed and disbelieved. Their sexual history, choice of clothing, and other unrelated issues are often brought up to discredit them. With the advent of the Me Too movement, people are pushing back against the habit of blaming victims. 

However, it is also important to remember that the accused have rights too. And although we should take allegations of sexual abuse seriously, we can't automatically assume that they are true. There have been many cases in which false accusations have been made by unscrupulous people for malicious reasons. For example, in situations of deep familial strife, such as a bitter divorce or a vicious child custody battle, false allegations of child abuse or molestation have been leveled in order to hurt the other side. Allegations of sexual assault and rape may similarly be used as a tool of revenge.

While the statistics may show a low percentage of false rape claims, that rate is not zero. And if you have been falsely accused of sexual assault, it does not matter how rare false rape claims are. The Berry Law Group is committed to fighting for justice for all of its clients. We will listen to your side of the story and do everything in our power to clear your good name.

Lack of Evidence

Ultimately, it is the burden of the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not up to the defense to prove a person is innocent – they merely need to show that guilt has not been adequately proven. If a person's liberty is on the line, it is incumbent on the authorities to have real evidence that a crime has occurred. In cases of sexual assault, this type of evidence may include forensic evidence, eyewitness testimony, or electronic communications. While cases may be brought based on unsubstantiated allegations, a lack of real evidence can be a very effective defense strategy.

Physical Limitations/Impotence

If you are accused of rape, but have a documented case of impotence, this can be used as evidence that you were not able to commit the crime. Other physical disabilities may be used to show your inability to commit a variety of sex crimes. If you have difficulties with mobility or stamina, it is unlikely that you were able to take part in a physically demanding attack. Providing medical records in court is important to this type of defense.

Statute of Limitations

Many offenses are covered by a statute of limitations in Georgia, meaning that after a certain amount of time has passed since the offense, a person can no longer be tried for it. No matter what how strong the evidence, if authorities file charges after the time specified by the statute of limitations has run out, the charges can be dismissed.

Georgia has a variety of statutes of limitations regarding sex crimes. For the offense of rape involving an adult victim, the statute of limitations is 15 years from the event (see exception below for cases in which DNA is involved). For other felony sexual assault crimes against adults, the statutes of limitations are between four and seven years, depending on the severity of the offense. Misdemeanors generally must be prosecuted within two years.

For child sexual assault (involving minors under the age of 16 years), there is no statute of limitations if the crime took place on or after July 1, 2012. This includes the crimes of rape, sodomy, statutory rape, child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes, incest and child cruelty. Child sexual assault before that date has a statute of limitations of seven years after the victim's sixteenth birthday or the date it was reported to authorities (whichever is earlier).

There is a major exception to the time limits in which sexual assault charges can be brought in Georgia. There is no statute of limitations on charges where DNA is used to identify the perpetrator, provided that a sufficient portion of the physical evidence tested for DNA is preserved and available for testing by the accused. This applies to the crimes of rape, aggravated child molestation, kidnapping, aggravated sodomy and aggravated sexual battery.

Statute of limitations laws are complicated and change often. To determine whether they are applicable to your case, consult with a sex crimes defense attorney.

Entrapment

The police occasionally conduct sting operations to catch sexual predators and other criminals. Anyone who has watched the television show “To Catch A Predator” knows that law enforcement agents may pose as children online. Those who solicit those “children” can be arrested and charged with a crime. When it comes to prostitution, police officers may also pose as sex workers – their “customers” are subsequently arrested and charged with solicitation. 
While sting operations are legal, entrapment is not. When police officers cross the line and induce a person to commit a crime they would not have otherwise committed, this is entrapment. According to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. 16-3-25):

Entrapment exists where the idea and intention of the commission of the crime originated with a government officer or employee, or with an agent of either, and he, by undue persuasion, incitement, or deceitful means, induced the accused to commit the act which the accused would not have committed except for the conduct of such officer.

The statute notes that if entrapment was used by the authorities to obtain evidence to prosecute a person for the commission of a crime, that person is not guilty.

If you believe you were set up by the police and induced into committing a crime you would not have otherwise carried out, you need to consult with an experienced defense attorney immediately. At the Berry Law Group we will assess your case for free and determine whether an entrapment defense is appropriate for your circumstances.

Georgia Sex Crimes Non-Defenses

While there are many defenses to accusations of sex crimes, there are also explanations that do not qualify as defenses in a court of law. Common ones include:

I was Drunk/High

Voluntary intoxication is not a defense in the state of Georgia. Just as you can be charged with getting drunk and causing a car accident, you can be charged with committing a sexual assault while drunk. If a man is intoxicated and has sexual relations with a woman who is too intoxicated to consent, he can still be charged with rape. The same applies to a person who is high on drugs.

However, involuntary intoxication can be used as a defense when it prevents a person from understanding the difference between right and wrong. Involuntary intoxication occurs when a person is slipped alcohol or drugs without their knowledge or consent. But if a person gets drunk or high willingly, involuntary intoxication no longer applies.

Accuser Didn't Say No/I Didn't Use Physical Force

According to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. 16-6-1), rape occurs when a man “has carnal knowledge” of a female “forcibly and against her will.” The term “forcibly” does not refer only to physical force. Courts have found that using intimidation and threats of bodily harm qualifies as using force. The term “against her will” means that the victim did not consent. This could mean that the victim said no to sexual contact or physically fought the perpetrator. However, this could also mean that the victim was unconscious or too intoxicated to give consent. Courts have found that consent given as a result of threats or intimidation is not true consent. Thus, if consent is not given freely and consciously and sex occurs as a result of physically or verbally forceful behavior, rape charges can be brought.

Other sexual assault crimes have similar requirements for consent. Sexual battery laws prohibit sexual contact or penetration “without the consent” of the other party. Aggravated sodomy is defined as “sodomy with force and against the will of the other person.” In both cases, freely given consent is required and physical force is not required.

The Accuser is My Spouse

In the past, laws prohibiting rape often made an exception: men were legally allowed to force their wives to have sex. Over the past few decades most statues, including Georgia, have reformed these laws. It is now possible for a husband to rape his wife, and marriage status cannot be used as a defense when it comes to sexual assault.

I Didn't Know the Victim's Age/The Underage Victim Consented

As mentioned above, children under the age of consent (16 years of age in Georgia) do not have the ability to consent. Any sexual contact with a child is illegal, no matter what the child did or said. Furthermore, crimes such as statutory rape and child molestation are strict liability crimes. It does not matter if you knew the age of the child – the fact that the crime occurred is enough to gain a conviction. At most, showing that you reasonably believed the minor to be older than 16 may help mitigate any punishment.

Prior Consensual Sexual Activity

The law has found that having sexual contact with a person at some point does not entitle one to future sexual contact with that person. The fact of prior sexual relations is not a defense to a rape or other sexual assault charge (although it may be part of a broader strategy to establish consent). However, evidence of a prior sexual relationship may be used to mitigate punishment.