When it comes to allegations of rape, it is often a case of one person’s word against the other person’s account of what happened. Certain factors, including the reliability of the parties involved and the credibility of the story, may affect the final outcome of the case. Some rape cases may be extremely hard to judge because of the severe emotional trauma involved and the often absent witnesses from the case. Other cases may be easier to solve.
A woman who claimed to have been drugged and raped by a former Detroit Tigers pitcher was unsuccessful at proving her story to the judge during a probable cause hearing. He dismissed the charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct due to the woman’s inability to provide a reliable account of what happened the night of the incident.
During one version of her story, the woman maintained that she was unaware of the baseball player’s status; however, she had admitted to a friend that she had full knowledge of the athlete’s identity. The case was thrown out because the prosecution could not show sufficient probable cause that a forced sexual encounter had occurred.
When falsely made, accusations of rape and other sexual crimes can damage a person’s reputation and cause significant emotional trauma. A criminal defense attorney may provide essential legal counsel that will help you understand all of your options when facing criminal charges.
Source: WKOW, “Judge drops rape charge against ex-Tigers pitcher,” Jeff Karoub, Aug. 21, 2014.