Norwalk Date Rape Lawyer
Contrary to what people believe, date rape is not a separate crime or a separate charge in and of itself. It is a way a sexual assault occurs and it is a term that is commonly used to refer to a sexual assault that occurs after two people have gone on a date and where there is some consent to some sexual activity but where the perpetrator is alleged to have gone beyond the consent that was provided during the initial sexual interaction and started doing things that were either unauthorized or inappropriate.
It still falls under the umbrella of rape and is prosecuted with the same level of aggressiveness. When defending yourself against these charges, it is important to retain the services of a Norwalk date rape attorney, who has familiarity with these charges and can start building your defense. Get in touch with an experienced sex crimes lawyer who will advocate for you.
Elements of Date Rape
There are no elements of date rape cases that differ from the elements of a rape case. The elements would be the same in a date setting as it would be in any other type of setting but what does occur that makes it a little bit different is that in almost every date rape case, they are dealing with a situation in which there are not other people that corroborate the account. An experienced Norwalk date rape lawyer will know be able to navigate those differences and can look at existing evidence to help build an individual’s case.
In addition, in many instances, they are dealing with some level of consent to begin with but then there is a claim that the consent ended or was not present for other sexual acts, which is not the case where they are dealing with a rape that might not have been consented to or where somebody did not consent to any sexual act from the beginning.
In the date rape setting or in the dating setting, many times, they are looking at a situation where there was some level of consent at the outset or, even at other times, during the sexual interaction but nevertheless, there is a claim that the consent was withheld at other times, so that makes it a little bit more unique in that sense.
Potential Penalties
Anyone convicted of date rape in Norwalk would face the same type of penalties that anyone else would face under a sexual assault conviction. The penalties would include prison time, probation, a fine, or any combination of those three in addition to a potential standing criminal protective order.
However, while date rape is taken seriously and the sentence will be harsh in any incident of sexual assault, an individual has the greatest opportunity for some leniency from the judge upon sentencing. That is only because the circumstances are sometimes less cut and dry, and it is less of a clear-cut instance of a forcible sexual assault, as opposed to something where there was the possibility that somebody thought they were engaging in something completely consensual.
Necessity of a Norwalk Date Rape Lawyer
Sometimes individuals may avoid retaining the services of a Norwalk date rape lawyer because they believe that they can just tell their own side of the story and that will exonerate them. People believe that it is the best course of action to just say what happened from their own perspective and that it will lead to them avoiding charges.
In a lot of instances, an individual is not necessarily helping themselves and end up incriminating themselves with the things they say in the absence of their attorney. It can be that they say corroborates part of what the victim said and/or what the evidence says or evidence that is contradictory to what the person is telling the authorities.That causes people to be less likely to believe their version of events because there is a piece of objective evidence that contradicts what the person is saying. They might not have said that had they had the opportunity to consult a lawyer and understand better what the evidence is and what the likely ability to corroborate or undermine what they say might be.
It may not be in their best interests to speak to the authorities at that time because the biggest thing people can take home with them in terms of understanding the benefits and drawbacks of giving a statement to the authorities is that most of the time, the thing that an individual is going to tell the authorities will still be helpful to them once they do have an attorney. In other words, if it tends to exonerate an individual, it will be helpful today, it will be helpful a month from now, and it will be helpful a year later so there is no need to rush into providing a statement before consulting with a Norwalk date rape lawyer, and understanding better what the likelihood of an arrest is and how, if at all, that statement may help their cause rather than hurt their cause.