Quote: (04-26-2017 07:36 PM)Mess O. Wrote:
I recently ran into something similar, and from what I read, never pull the "consensual" stance, since then you've essentially admitted to engaging in whatever you've been alleged of doing. The one and only proper defense is that "it" never happened. And don't make any attempt to share your side of it with police. They're only hoping to conjure up the necessary grounds in order to make an arrest.
Yeah, if you make no statement at all, it leaves a lot of other possible explanations for the accusers' testimony. Maybe it's a case of mistaken identity, and it was actually your twin brother who banged those chicks, while you were 1,000 miles away. As far as the court knows, it's possible. As soon as you admit to even being there, you start to reduce the number of possible alternative explanations for what happened.
On the other hand, if you say, "I was 1,000 miles away," and a witness says, "No he wasn't," then they'll try to say, "Aha, we just caught him in a lie. And he had no reason to lie unless he's guilty!"
You have to be really careful what kind of evidence you present in an effort to exculpate yourself, because you can actually make it easier for them to find you guilty, by giving them a bunch of circumstantial evidence that can be used against you. This is very counterintuitive, because our whole culture teaches the opposite. From elementary school, they tell us the story of how George Washington said, "I cannot tell a lie" and admitted cutting down the cherry tree, and everything was fine because he confessed. In church, they say, "Confess your sins to the priest and you will be absolved." (So you have to say five Hail Marys; it's better than going to Hell.)
On the other hand, if your parents question you about a smashed vase and you refuse to answer, they say, "I guess you did it, then, since you're not denying it. Silence means you're guilty." It just seems like the most natural thing, then, to try to talk your way out of a rape accusation; but no matter what you say, it's worse than if you just said nothing.
I just wonder about the rules of engagement of this type of administrative trial. Are they allowed to draw an adverse inference if you plead the Fifth and refuse to answer their questions? I know that in family court it works that way.
By the way, it's not unheard of for accusers to flake out and decide not to testify, especially if they graduate and move out of the area.