Facing a sexual assault accusation in South Carolina raises serious questions about how these cases proceed even without physical evidence, what happens during a police investigation, and whether you should ever speak to investigators. Below, Greg McCollum answers these three common questions directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Be Charged with Sexual Assault Without Evidence in South Carolina?
Yes. And that’s the thing that can be so scary about these kind of cases. There could be an allegation that the person was sexually assaulted and there be absolutely no physical evidence. There could be no physical evidence that a sex act even took place. Some of these cases are where the person says they were sexually assaulted, they were raped.
Some of these cases could be where somebody says they had attempted to sexually assault them, but there’s no physical evidence. So what do you do in a situation like that? It’s like your word against this person’s word. This person comes to court and testifies under oath in front of the jury that these things happened. And then if you’re defending the other person, the person has the opportunity to testify or not, but testify it didn’t happen.
And so that’s it. As a defense lawyer, you’re saying there’s no evidence here, it’s just a statement. But then the jury is looking at it and the judge is telling them that testimony you heard is evidence. And if you find beyond a reasonable doubt that this person is guilty of the crime alleged, then you would find them guilty.
This happens where there’s really no evidence, but the case is going forward. In a lot of those situations, the case doesn’t get to trial because the prosecutor sees that they don’t have a strong case and they don’t know what’s going to happen. So maybe they negotiate it, maybe they work it into some kind of plea, maybe they work it where the person gets probation and doesn’t have to register as a sex offender and that sort of thing.
But yes, cases can be made in South Carolina with quote no evidence. And they are made and they are on the docket.
What Happens During a Sexual Assault Investigation in South Carolina?
It’s just like any other investigation. The police are going to talk to the person making the allegation. They’re going to talk to any other witnesses or people that were involved or around it, people who might have seen something.
Chances are that when the alleged victim has reported that they’ve been sexually assaulted, they’re going to go through a protocol where they’re going to go to the hospital, and the hospitals have a set format where they do this and then they’re examined, they get the pelvic exam, they take the clothes, they’re looking for DNA, they’re looking for hair fibers, they’re looking for bruising, they’re looking for evidence of a sexual battery. The person is then given tests for sexually transmitted diseases.
They’re given certain medications where they won’t be able to get pregnant and that sort of thing. As far as I know, those medications are still administered because it’s a rape and it just happened. So then at that point they’re going to look at that, and the police are going to do a normal investigation, but usually you’re going to have that, it’s called the rape kit.
They’re going to have that kit and that has that evidence so that if the person’s DNA matches, it could be blood, it could be semen, it could be anything like that. They’re going to have that physical evidence that they’re going to be analyzing. In a lot of those kind of situations, the arrest is delayed until some of that work is done. The investigation might last a few days, it might last a few weeks. If a child is involved, it may last several months.
Should You Talk to Police If Accused of Sexual Assault? (No, Here’s Why)
The short answer is no, not really. There may be a circumstance where if a lawyer is representing somebody and the circumstances are such that it was physically impossible for the person to have committed the crime, or the facts are such that it’s touch and go.
In a lot of times in those situations, the lawyer is talking to the lead investigator and saying, “Okay, listen, you want to talk to this person that we represent, if we answer your questions, does that mean there’s a significant chance he’s not going to be charged with a crime?”
All detectives are different, but if the detective says, “Listen, yeah, I’ve got some problems with this victim’s story, there’s some things I’d like to find out, I’m not so sure about this,” that’s one situation. Sometimes police do this other thing where they say, “Well, I’m just going to present it to the judge and let the judge decide.” That usually means the person’s getting arrested. Sometimes police officers are like, “I just need to close out my investigation.”
There’s been a situation where a police officer read a client their rights and the person said, “I’m not going to wave my rights, I’m going to invoke my right to silence,” and then signed it and dated it and put the time on it, and the police said, “Thank you,” and put it in his file because he had to go show that to his supervisor because he had tried to get the statement, he couldn’t get the statement, and then that was the end of that case.
So should you talk in most situations? No. There are some situations where you could. There have been situations where police talked to witnesses and other people which resulted in a person not being charged. So there’s that option too, if witnesses can be pointed to. But if it had to be called yes or no, if there was just a right or wrong answer, the answer would be no. Get a lawyer.
If you have questions about sexual assault charges in South Carolina, call the Greg McCollum Complete Legal Defense Team at (843) 626-5480. Consultations are confidential.
