Rape Cases

[JohnDanzJr]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

My father was found guilty of 10 counts of child sexual conduct against my sister. There was no DNA evidence, no physical evidence, and according to her the last rape was done five years prior to her revelation.

With this gross lack of REAL evidence, my dad was found guilty of rape. He also had to sit in jail for nearly a year before his trial even commenced.

Why is it that rape cases can get a green light based on NO physical evidence whatsoever, with the "victim" being a confessed compulsive liar?

 

[m31n3z3w5k1]

I compaired your topic with a topic posted on another forum site. I think it is all based on a number of certain things first off the story the victim tells the police vs the story of the suposed criminal, amount of evidence, witnesses, prior convictions, and also age.
I would like to share with you what a girl posted on another site (off the top of my head)
Her complaint was that she was raped and that the police didn't do any thing about it and that the police instead of helping the situation created more of a problem for her by victimizing her. She then goes into saying how she was alone so there weren't any witnesess and that she wasn't on birth control and became pregnant ect. The police told her that there wasn't enough proof no sign of a struggle, to try and get his dna from the baby wich would have been impossible since the clinc can only keep a fetus for 2 weeks and it takes 3+ weeks to get a trial to test the DNA and that it was her word against his. They also say there was no way of knowing if it was concetual or not and was possibly mad at the guy. (aquaintece rape is one of the hardest cases to proove) She then claims that the police in her city are NOT doing there job so that congress can put a ban on abortion if the rape crimes are not seen in the public eye which I thought was kind of funny.

I guess what I'm getting at, is that alot of innocent people end up in jail and a lot of guilty people never even see the inside of a court room. Not much you can do except to be more aware of our surroundings.

 

[CdwJava]

Apparently a jury found her account credible and that she was not a proven and compulsive liar ... And I doubt she was "proven" anything of the sort.

While there may not have been DNA evidence or other hard proof, cases can be made through confirmation and corroboration. If dad has grounds for appeal and still can, perhaps he should try to appeal.

 

[Some Random Guy]

You say that she was a "confessed compulsive liar". Have you considered that years of sexual abuse of someone as a child may have affected her personality? How about demands by her abuser that she not reveal the truth or else she will be harmed?

The jury found her credible enough.

 

[JohnDanzJr]

I, my mom, my grandmother and my aunt all told accounts of her dishonesty - of things unrelated to any "rape."

I just think it's sad that a woman can lie and get a man put away for life like that with NO physical evidence. ANY other case beckons physical evidence. As far as the appeal, he is appealing - however, judging by how the case was handled, he probably won't get far.

 

[Antigone*]

I, my mom, my grandmother and my aunt all told accounts of her dishonesty - of things unrelated to any "rape."

I just think it's sad that a woman can lie and get a man put away for life like that with NO physical evidence. ANY other case beckons physical evidence. As far as the appeal, he is appealing - however, judging by how the case was handled, he probably won't get far.

So what are you looking for from this forum other than a place to vent?

 

[CdwJava]

I, my mom, my grandmother and my aunt all told accounts of her dishonesty - of things unrelated to any "rape."

The point was that the dishonesty and obfuscation in other areas can be attributed to sexual assault.

I just think it's sad that a woman can lie and get a man put away for life like that with NO physical evidence. ANY other case beckons physical evidence. As far as the appeal, he is appealing - however, judging by how the case was handled, he probably won't get far.

The case was apparently sufficient to convince a judge and 12 jurors that he did it. Your support for him is understandable, and maybe he is innocent. But, let me enlighten you on the fact that many people - including family - may not know of an abuser's proclivity. It can go on for many years without anyone having a clue (or admitting that they had a clue) and when the time comes for the curtain to fall, the abuser will have character witnesses lined up to say how wonderful he is and how the victim is lying.

I have been in the courtroom and investigated dozens of these cases and none have gone to trial where the evidence - which includes testimony - is not compelling. Few DAs will pursue a case such as this with a weak victim statement being the sole evidence against the defendant. In this case, I strongly suspect that the prosecution utilized other witnesses or evidence to at least make a compelling enough story to lend itself to credibility.

That being said, is it possible that an innocent man can get convicted? Sure. One would hope that never happens, but we know it does. His recourse is an appeal ... that is, if he has grounds to appeal. He cannot just appeal because he did not like the verdict! Does he have ANY legal grounds for an appeal?