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Speak Up! - View Question #310 |
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Question: What happens if a girl wants sex but when they get caught and sent to court the girl says the guy raped her?
Answer: Whenever you are accused of crime, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you have actually committed the crime. This means bringing evidence, including potentially the statement of the victim, in front of a jury. The government will need to build a case that convinces the jury that you did, in fact, commit the crime.
When a person is saying that she has not consented to sex, the government would be required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she did not consent to have sex. The government's case will hinge on whether the victim provides believable testimony to convince the jury that she did not consent.
Typically, prosecutors are sensitive to trying to build a case out of the testimony of ONLY the victim. It is very hard to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt when it is based only on the statement of the victim. Usually more evidence will be needed to convince a jury, especially if the victim is a young girl.
Prosecutors also do not want to have a situation of 'He said, she said' in which two people simply contradict each other. This would almost never be enough, without more evidence, to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt.
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