Child Rape: Guilty Before Proven Innocent and You Better Prove You Didn’t Do It

We have all heard the expression innocent until proven guilty. We all know that the proof is on the district attorney to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime charged. We are familiar with those historic words “cloaked with the presumption of innocence”. Yet any time someone is charged with the crime of rape of a child people run and hide from those constitutional protections and principles. Opinions are immediately formed. The defendant is now a pariah. Even judges overlook those bedrock ideologies. The only person someone this position can count on is his criminal defense lawyer.

What Happens When Someone is Accused of Rape of a Child?

At your arraignment the district attorney will ask for bail. A judge may or may not impose an order of bail but one thing is fairly certain. You are going to have to wear an electronic monitoring device. Take for the instance the case of George Collins, a sixty-five year old East Bridgewater man. Just a couple of days ago Collins was arrested and charged with rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of sixteen. The allegations are that this happened several years ago. That notwithstanding, he now has to wear the GPS device perhaps until his case gets resolved. Yet Collins is presumed innocent? Oh, and by the way, Collins also has to stay away from children and he cannot travel outside of this state. And there’s more. Collins is ordered to stay away from specified locations. So much for the presumption of innocence.

How Can Someone Defend Allegations of Child Rape?

This is probably not one of those situations where you are going to be able to sit back and argue that the district attorney did not prove his case. You can do that in OUI cases, robberies and sometimes even murder cases but you can’t do that in sex cases involving child victims. Nope. Here, your lawyer is going to have to get aggressive. You are going to need to investigate motive. Often children are used as pawns in games of revenge. This is seen in family situations where people are fighting over custody of children or where a scorned party manipulates a child to gain get revenge. This is not uncommon and aggressive defense attorneys explore this possibility and apply it to their defense where appropriate. Sometimes children are coached into making these accusations by teachers, day care providers or physicians. Sometimes they are making it up. Motive must be investigated immediately in cases like this one. Your lawyer cannot rely on the jury’s understanding of the law in hopes that it finds doubt. Rather, your lawyer is going to have to create doubt and take an offensive approach to protecting you.

What Can I Do To Help My Lawyer Defend Me?

Lots. Create a timeline. Show that you were not where the prosecution says you were when you supposedly committed these acts. We had cases where someone accused was living outside of the country at the time the accusation was made. Educate your lawyer. Tell him or her about your family history. Let your lawyer know that motive for fabrication exists. Access medical records and mental health records. Proof on innocence can sometimes be found in medical records. Make sure your lawyer knows about any physical or mental health issues the complainant may have.

The Law Offices of Stephen Neyman, PC has been defending crimes like this for nearly thirty years. Call us now at 617-263-6800 or email us if you are in trouble. Lets start working together.