Manassas Date Rape Lawyer
Any type of sex crime is serious and will be prosecuted very harshly under Virginia law. Regarding rape, there are multiple kinds. Rape is generally defined as sex committed against the will of of the complaining witness through the following: force, threat, or intimidation. Date rape in particular constitutes sex against the will of the complaining witness, but with the added partial or complete elimination of the ability for the complaining witness to refuse. This could involve different factors such as drugs, excessive alcohol consumption, or other limiting agents. Because rape is considered to be one of the worst crimes a person could commit, it is imperative that anyone charged with rape, including date rape, contact an experienced Manassas date rape lawyer for representation in their case. Otherwise, the consequences could be even more severe than they currently are.
Date Rape Under Virginia Law
Date rape is a form of rape where a person knows their attacker and has established some level of trust with that attacker only to have that trust violated, resulting in unwanted sexual intercourse.
The classic example is where a person out on a date with someone finds themselves blacking out after having been drugged by the person they are with. That person may have slipped something into their drink, and next thing they know, they wake up and can tell that they have had sex although they have no recollection of the event.
Essentially, date rape is having sex with someone by limiting or completely eliminating their ability to say no or to fight off the potential attack. This can be done in a number of different ways, including the example provided above.
Why Someone May Not Hire a Manassas Date Rape Attorney
There is no good reason why a person would not want to hire a date rape lawyer in Manassas when they have been accused of such a serious charge.
A lot of times in date rape situations, if there was no intention to mentally or physically incapacitate the person, but rather the complaining witness was just drunk on their own free will, the defendant might not believe it is a serious situation. This is a very big mistake.
Often, people who have had another complain against them to the police that they were forced to have sex or that they had sex against their will, will openly talk about what occurred before they fully understand the weight of the circumstances they find themselves in.
Evidence Involved in Date Rape Cases
Date rape allegations almost always involve some drug or intoxicant on the part of the complaining witness. The question becomes whether or not that person was intoxicated of their own free will or whether they were given something that helped them along.
Toxicology Screenings in Manassas Date Rape Cases
In cases where the complaining witness immediately reports the alleged crime to the authorities, they almost always do a toxicology screening on that person to find out what is in their blood system. If there are any traces of any so called date rape drugs in their system, clearly the case could be made that the person was not intoxicated of his or her own free will.
In many cases, these allegations do not surface right away and the result of that is the loss of potential evidence for the government. Once the body metabolizes certain drugs, they are out of their system. After they are out of the system, there is no way any toxicology screen can bring back that potential evidence and detect amounts of those drugs. Then it becomes a question of whether or not the alleged victim can credibly assert that he or she was not acting of his or her own free will based on some level of intoxication.
If No Date Rape Drugs are Present in the Case
On the flip side, in almost every date rape case, if it does not involve some sort of nefarious act from one party, then they are going to say that it was consensual.
If a person is out drinking with a girl and they ended up having sex, it is often the case that the person who is charged mistakenly thought that the sex was consensual. People need to understand that it is incumbent upon both parties to make sure that the other is not so intoxicated that they lack the ability to legally consent to sex. It is a dangerous minefield.
The Importance of Hiring a Manassas Date Rape Attorney
The smart move for anybody to make if they find out they are being investigated for date rape is to contact a local Manassas attorney. The first thing that attorney would say is, “Stop talking to the police. Don’t say anything to any investigators. Don’t say anything to any friends. Don’t say anything to teachers, nurses, doctors, or anybody. Say nothing about any of this.” In the “he said, she said” situation, as almost every date rape case is, the more information that police can get from the alleged perpetrator that validates what the alleged victim is saying helps the prosecution.
In many criminal cases, some of the best evidence prosecutors have in their possession include incriminating statements made by the individual who has been charged.
