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Advice For A Good Friends Father - Please Help

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helpjim

Junior Member
Preface: A good friend of mine who I have known for several years now, has a father of outstanding conscience. His father held a position on the board of directors for his company, is a member of the town council, and an overall an extremely good man of moral character.


Location: Washington D.C.


Problem: During a visit to Washington, D.C with his wife of many years, he was arrested for misdemeanor sexual assault. They were visiting the after a short three hour drive from their home town. On the way to the bathroom, a lady in the museum claimed that my friends father grabbed her rear end twice while they were there. There was no other wittinesses, and the museum claimed that no cameras were present in the room where the alleged action had taken place. He has character witnesses also sending in testimony of his by the book lifestyle, about his actions in the community, no previous problems with the law, and such.

I don't see how they can arrest and charge him for something based on he-said-she-said, with no witnesses, and in a museum where cameras are usually located in abundance. In my opinion, it seems like the lady is doing this to get a out of court settlement with no charges filed, yet so she is granted a sum of money. Has anyone heard of any scams in the Washington, D.C area that follow this pattern? Any information, help, or just even a point in the right direction would be a great help. This is a very serious matter to his whole family, employment, and future. Could the lady who brought up these allegations be charged with defamation of character or slander?

Thank you all very much in advance for taking the time to read this.
 


helpjim

Junior Member
So essentially, If I was out at a museum and I wanted some money, I could just say that someone grabbed me inappropriately, had them arrested, waited for trial, then say I'd rather settle out of court for a sum of money? I would need no evidence, no witnesses, no anything?

This sounds extremely unfair - and will possibly ruin his fathers life. Its not like this happened in the street during a one on one confrontation, this was in a museum with many other people around. Maybe someone could have done that to her - but it wasnt him and hes being charged with it? How many times when you were younger did someone tap you on the shoulder only for you to turn around and say something to the completely wrong person?
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
Who told you life was fair?

Anyway, you are mixing up civil and criminal cases.

Do a little more research to learn the difference.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Preface: A good friend of mine who I have known for several years now, has a father of outstanding conscience. His father held a position on the board of directors for his company, is a member of the town council, and an overall an extremely good man of moral character.
And as a young adult I testified against a child molester who was a college professor, park ranger, and man with 30 character references from members of the city council (of a city with more than half a million residents) to the state Assembly ... he was convicted of 2 counts of molestation, but was suspected of close to 200.

A sexual predator can come in any guise, so his standing in his community is entirely irrelevant to the case at hand.

I have investigated and arrested pastors, youth sports leaders, government officials, and a host of other upstanding fellows for all manner of sex crimes. Deviance knows no boundaries, and many folks can conceal their predilections.

He has character witnesses also sending in testimony of his by the book lifestyle, about his actions in the community, no previous problems with the law, and such.
These character witnesses might be able to testify at a penalty phase, but not at trial as they were not witnesses. Plus, see my comments above.

I don't see how they can arrest and charge him for something based on he-said-she-said, with no witnesses, and in a museum where cameras are usually located in abundance.
An arrest is based upon probable cause. That is, the officer only needs probable cause to believe a crime has occurred and that the person arrested more than likely committed the offense. It really is a rather low burden of proof.

A conviction, on the other hand, must rise to a higher level - proof beyond a reasonable doubt. An arrest does not imply that there is enough for a conviction.

In my opinion, it seems like the lady is doing this to get a out of court settlement with no charges filed, yet so she is granted a sum of money.
Has she made such an offer? If so, your friend might want to let his attorney know so that it can be related to the prosecutor. It MIGHT be considered extortion or tampering ... depending on how the offer is/was presented.

Has anyone heard of any scams in the Washington, D.C area that follow this pattern?
No. Besides, that's a civil issue and no part of the criminal case.

Could the lady who brought up these allegations be charged with defamation of character or slander?
If it can be PROVEN that she knowingly and maliciously reported that your friend assaulted her when he, in fact, did not, then a case might be made for making a false report and a civil suit might be possible for false arrest, etc. However, that is hard to do as your friend would have to prove that it did NOT happen ... and without cameras he can no more prove it did NOT happen than the state can prove that it DID happen.


- Carl
 

helpjim

Junior Member
So for him to actually be apprehended there is only a need for probable cause (which is the lady stating that he did it), but to be prosecuted they would need to prove this beyond reasonable doubt? Which is impossible, by the way - there is nothing else other then the fact that she claims it was him, when it could have been anyone who was currently in that room in the museum at the time. In my opinion, most museums in Washington D.C. especially would have a higher then normal amount of video surveillance. They said that they have him on tape in the same room as her, but nowhere near her nor interacting. I find it hard to believe that a place with so many valuable artifacts would not keep a watch on everything. And finally, him and his wife while touring the museum ran out of time and did not even make it to the room where it supposedly happened - it was the second to last exibit in the whole museum.

And I agree, the law can be quite unfair. Its a shame to see something like this happen. He could of unknowingly bumped into her when turning a corner or such and all she has to do is say this?

If he can prove she brought up false allegations, he can file a civil suit against her correct?
 
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helpjim

Junior Member
But she cant even prove that it happened in a museum with cameras everywhere, so is there any chance he can get in trouble? Should he even bother paying 8,000$ for a lawyer when there is NO proof whatsoever - he even has his wife as a witness, the "victim", has nothing.
 

The Occultist

Senior Member
But she cant even prove that it happened in a museum with cameras everywhere, so is there any chance he can get in trouble? Should he even bother paying 8,000$ for a lawyer when there is NO proof whatsoever - he even has his wife as a witness, the "victim", has nothing.
The wife is hardly an impartial witness, so her testimony won't really mean a whole lot.

Whether or not he feels an attorney is worth the money is his call, and his call alone. If he knows that there is no proof and he wants to defend himself, fine. If he's afraid that perhaps the judgment won't go his way even if he believes there to be no proof, then perhaps he should invest in a lawyer.

If there's no proof, there's no proof.

Even if there is no proof, you're not really going to be able to launch a counter suit against her.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
I'm trying to figure out how she picked him out if he wasn't near her. If someone grabbed her rear end, I presume she turned around immediately. If that's the case, and he was the only one standing within arm's reach, that would seem to be pretty damning.

If there was a knot of people within arm's reach, then I can see room for doubt ... otherwise ...

- Carl
 

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