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Criminal Sexual Conduct With a Minor

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M

MommaC

Guest
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? South Carolina

My 12 year old daughter was introduced to a 27 year old man (friend of a friend) back in Feb. of this year. In Feb. this man purchased a bottle of whiskey for my daughter's minor(16 yrs) friend. My daughter recently admitted to drinking some of the alcohol. Another occurance took place where this same man took my daughter, and two of her other minor friends to a hotel, where they spent the night. She was supposed to be spending the night at a friend's house, but apparently they snuck out.
I filed a complaint against him with the police dept, and a detective brought him in for questioning. The det. felt that after questioning, no sexual improprieties had taken place, however she informed the man of my daughter's age and that if the det. heard of him being around my daughter again, she would charge him with contributing. The det. felt that she had made a significant impression on the man, and released him without charges.

*fast-forward to July 17 of this year*

It has come to my understanding that this same man took my daughter into a secluded area on a nature trail and had sex with her. My daughter admits that it happened, but that she loves him and sees nothing wrong with it. The story has been corroborated by two other friends(they observed them enter the woods together and return approx. 30 mins. later)

I of course called the police and filed a report. My daughter also filed a report. I am pressing charges against this man, but the process seems so slow, and my phonecalls aren't being returned by the det. working on the case.

I did some snooping of my own and discovered that this guy is out on 10,000 bail for indecent exposure.The victim's stats were not disclosed in the report, so I'm not sure if it was a minor, but I suspect it was.

My daughter has since been moved to another family member's home for a while, to remove her from the situation.

I have passed this man twice in traffic(small town), since this investigation started, and I don't understand why he's still enjoying his freedom, while my family is torn apart.

I feel as though someone has dropped the ball, I'm just not sure who at this point.
I accept some of the blame for this, as I am her mother, and am responsible for her well-being, but no parent ever expects something like this to happen.
 


rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
Here is the contact information for rape advocacy in your state, often having a resource like this will more effectively guide you in your options. Sometimes criminal investigations take time to have a good case, but having someone on your side helps:
South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
P.O. Box 7776
Columbus, SC 29202
Phone: (803) 256-2900
Fax: (803) 256-1030
South Carolina Attorney General -- Stop Violence Against Women

Here are links to SC laws on rape:
Statutory Rape Laws For South Carolina
http://www.scstatehouse.net/code/t16c003.htm: Offenses Against the Person.
SECTION 16-3-652. Criminal sexual conduct in the first degree.
SECTION 16-3-653. Criminal sexual conduct in the second degree.
SECTION 16-3-654. Criminal sexual conduct in the third degree.
SECTION 16-3-655. Criminal sexual conduct with minors.
SECTION 16-3-651. Criminal sexual conduct: definitions.
For the purposes of Sections 16-3-651 to 16-3-659.1:
(a) "Actor" means a person accused of criminal sexual conduct.
(b) "Aggravated coercion" means that the actor threatens to use force or violence of a high and aggravated nature to overcome the victim or another person, if the victim reasonably believes that the actor has the present ability to carry out the threat, or threatens to retaliate in the future by the infliction of physical harm, kidnapping or extortion, under circumstances of aggravation, against the victim or any other person.
(c) "Aggravated force" means that the actor uses physical force or physical violence of a high and aggravated nature to overcome the victim or includes the threat of the use of a deadly weapon.
(d) "Intimate parts" includes the primary genital area, anus, groin, inner thighs, or buttocks of a male or female human being and the breasts of a female human being.
(e) "Mentally defective" means that a person suffers from a mental disease or defect which renders the person temporarily or permanently incapable of appraising the nature of his or her conduct.
(f) "Mentally incapacitated" means that a person is rendered temporarily incapable of appraising or controlling his or her conduct whether this condition is produced by illness, defect, the influence of a substance or from some other cause.
(g) "Physically helpless" means that a person is unconscious, asleep, or for any other reason physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act.
(h) "Sexual battery" means sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anal intercourse, or any intrusion, however slight, of any part of a person's body or of any object into the genital or anal openings of another person's body, except when such intrusion is accomplished for medically recognized treatment or diagnostic purposes.
(i) "Victim" means the person alleging to have been subjected to criminal sexual conduct.
SECTION 16-3-652. Criminal sexual conduct in the first degree.
(1) A person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree if the actor engages in sexual battery with the victim and if any one or more of the following circumstances are proven:
(a) The actor uses aggravated force to accomplish sexual battery.
(b) The victim submits to sexual battery by the actor under circumstances where the victim is also the victim of forcible confinement, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, burglary, housebreaking, or any other similar offense or act.
(c) The actor causes the victim, without the victim's consent, to become mentally incapacitated or physically helpless by administering, distributing, dispensing, delivering, or causing to be administered, distributed, dispensed, or delivered a controlled substance, a controlled substance analogue, or any intoxicating substance.
(2) Criminal sexual conduct in the first degree is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than thirty years, according to the discretion of the court.
SECTION 16-3-653. Criminal sexual conduct in the second degree.
(1) A person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree if the actor uses aggravated coercion to accomplish sexual battery.
(2) Criminal sexual conduct in the second degree is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than twenty years according to the discretion of the court.
SECTION 16-3-654. Criminal sexual conduct in the third degree.
(1) A person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree if the actor engages in sexual battery with the victim and if any one or more of the following circumstances are proven:
(a) The actor uses force or coercion to accomplish the sexual battery in the absence of aggravating circumstances.
(b) The actor knows or has reason to know that the victim is mentally defective, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless and aggravated force or aggravated coercion was not used to accomplish sexual battery.
(2) Criminal sexual conduct in the third degree is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than ten years, according to the discretion of the court.
SECTION 16-3-655. Criminal sexual conduct with minors.
(1) A person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree if the actor engages in sexual battery with the victim who is less than eleven years of age.
(2) A person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree if the actor engages in sexual battery with a victim who is fourteen years of age or less but who is at least eleven years of age.
(3) A person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree if the actor engages in sexual battery with a victim who is at least fourteen years of age but who is less than sixteen years of age and the actor is in a position of familial, custodial, or official authority to coerce the victim to submit or is older than the victim.
SECTION 16-3-656. Criminal sexual conduct: assaults with intent to commit.
Assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct described in the above sections shall be punishable as if the criminal sexual conduct was committed.
SECTION 16-3-657. Criminal sexual conduct: testimony of victim need not be corroborated.
The testimony of the victim need not be corroborated in prosecutions under Sections 16-3-652 through 16-3-658.

SECTION 16-3-659. 1. Criminal sexual conduct: admissibility of evidence concerning victim's sexual conduct.
(1) Evidence of specific instances of the victim's sexual conduct, opinion evidence of the victim's sexual conduct, and reputation evidence of the victim's sexual conduct is not admissible in prosecutions under Sections 16-3-615 and 16-3-652 to 16-3-656; however, evidence of the victim's sexual conduct with the defendant or evidence of specific instances of sexual activity with persons other than the defendant introduced to show source or origin of semen, pregnancy, or disease about which evidence has been introduced previously at trial is admissible if the judge finds that such evidence is relevant to a material fact and issue in the case and that its inflammatory or prejudicial nature does not outweigh its probative value. Evidence of specific instances of sexual activity which would constitute adultery and would be admissible under rules of evidence to impeach the credibility of the witness may not be excluded.
(2) If the defendant proposes to offer evidence described in subsection (1), the defendant, prior to presenting his defense shall file a written motion and offer of proof. The court shall order an in-camera hearing to determine whether the proposed evidence is admissable under subsection (1). If new evidence is discovered during the presentation of the defense that may make the evidence described in subsection (1) admissable, the judge may order an in-camera hearing to determine whether the proposed evidence is admissable under subsection (1).
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Sexual assault investigations, even those that SEEM so 'open and shut' are very difficult to prove. Unless the suspect confesses, there are a lot of difficulties in getting a conviction without witnesses or definitive forensic evidence. And if this was reported on July 17th, I would be surprised if anything HAD been done so soon. This could take many months or a year before anything shakes loose ... depending in the circumstances. And there is a real possibility it may never get in to a courtroom.

The sad fact of the matter is that even while you may believe your daughter and the situation, proving that the events actually happened in a court of law is a different matter. And the prosecutor is not likely to proceed to court until or unless he has a case strong enough to beat the reasonable doubt that would certainly be raised by the suspect's denial.

Speaking form experience, most of these cases never get to to court. Yours stands a better chance than most given the age of the victim and the cooperation. If she claimed to "love" him, things woul dbe a lot worse bcause she would not likely cooperate. And if the victim has a history of problems (criminal referrals, running away, delinquency) that even makes the case harder.

Steel yourself to the possibility that it may never go to court. Don't predicate the remainder of your lives waiting for a court trial that may never happen. Attend counseling or therapy - whatever might be necessay, and move forward with your lives. Hope for the best with regards to the legal process, but don't count on it.

Good luck.

Carl
 
M

MommaC

Guest
Well the actual incident took place in june, but I didn't find out about it and report it until mid july, so yeah, I guess I am being impatient.

It's just so unnerving to be driving down the road and see him going about his business. It takes every shred of will within me not to follow him and beat him down into an approxomate likeness to the pile of s**t that he is.

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but...

SECTION 16-3-657. Criminal sexual conduct: testimony of victim need not be corroborated.
The testimony of the victim need not be corroborated in prosecutions under Sections 16-3-652 through 16-3-658.

I'm not well schooled in codes and ordinances pertaining to things of this nature...hell no parent should ever have to be. :(

I'm not sure which is worse, letting this thing drop and moving on with our otherwise uneventful lives, or having my daughter be subjected to the scrutiny of the judicial system. He has a right to face his accuser, and she must testify in front of a jury as to the details of the incident.

Would she be treated the same as any other adult victim/witness? I mean would the defense try to make her out to be a bad kid, tramp, etc..??


P.S. Thanks for the links rmet.

P.P.S. heh, I'll get all this out eventually...does it matter that he is out on bail right now for a sexual offense?
 
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CdwJava

Senior Member
All because her statements CAN be admitted without corroboration does not mean that they must be given any special weight or consideration. They can still be impeached or be ineffective.

If the statements alone were allowed to stand as unequivocal proof, any of us could be convicted by a mere allegation. All the law there does is permit the statement as evidence without further corroboration. In other words, it seems to be a codified exception to the hearsay rules.

If the prosecutor goes to trial prior to having a case they think they can win, they could well lose any chance of bringing a guilty suspect to justice ... and they will not get another chance to go after the defendant. So, they have to wait. They have to build the case ... if they can.

And the victim here will be treated as any other victim. if her crdibility can be impeached, you can bet they will. If she can be portrayed as a tramp or "bad kid", they might be able to do it. However, an attorney being seen hounding a "good kid" can backfire big time with a jury. So unless there are things the defense can point to regarding your daughter's actions and history, just shooting in the dark would likely backfire.

Carl
 
M

MommaC

Guest
The real question should only come down to their credibility though, right? Regardless of any behavior on her part, with the exception of dishonesty, gossip, slander, etc. that would lead a jury to believe that she's making the whole thing up.
She got in quite a bit of trouble at school last year, but it was for disruptive behavior(class clown, smart mouth, etc.) She's going through counseling now, but her Psychologist suspects she has ADHD, ODD and a few other things that need further study by an M.D. She's got a history of that type of behavior, but it really peaked this year.
However all of that still doesn't take away from this guy's disgusting behavior. Shes 12, she can't even keep her room clean for christ's sake!!
12 year olds are smartasses, disrespectful, obnoxious, defiant, but most of all they are typical children.
This guy's a 27 year old loser, who has sex with children. Nothing typical about that at all. It was just too easy, because she was all moony-eyed over him. He took advantage of that crush.

Thanks for all the advice you guys. I guess it's just a wait and see kind of thing. At this point it's all damage control where my daughter's concerned.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Well, if it comes down to her word against his - no forensic evidence or witnesses - then one tactic I have seen is to go after the 'victim' and her credibility. Sometimes, the parents and family members get called.

Inquiry will include lies she has told, times she has run away or defied her parents, times she has made up stories or tried to get others in trouble (if there are siblings that will almost certainly have happened), etc. And if done well, it all adds up to reasonable doubt. And dependin gon the trouble at school she could be portrayed as someone who cannot be easily believed.

Rarely is a prosecutor going to try to go to court until or unless they have something else besides the two words. If the defendant has not 'lawyered up' yet, there are some things they can do ... pretext phone calls (recorded conversations between the suspect and victim), casual contacts, cold calls, etc.

Its a tough and ugly road ... and, unfortunately, I have seen it far too often. The advantage here is that even if he is not convicted for it this time, there may well be ample evidence to get him next time ... and there will almost always be a "next time".

Sadly.

Carl
 
M

MommaC

Guest
I have some notes that I intercepted from one of her friends, and a few that I found in her room, and some of her journal entrees too, but if you didn't know about the incident, the notes would seem rather vague.
She use to chat with him on Yahoo....
 

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