In sexual assault cases, very often it comes down to just what the victim says and what the defendant says. How does the jury decide? What would keep a person from making a false claim against someone if all you need is your testimony to get a conviction?

Unfortunately, numerous instances include only circumstantial evidence that leaves room for doubt, making it difficult to press criminal charges. Criminal cases require concrete evidence.

Witnesses
To convince a jury or court of sexual assault, witnesses who agree with your story are very helpful. They increase a plaintiff’s credibility. The testimony of other survivors is also extremely helpful.

Physical Proof
Physical proof is strong evidence for any sexual assault case. If survivors come forward immediately after, a sexual assault kit collects evidence that is highly useful in court, including pictures, DNA samples and more.

However, many who are assaulted may not come forward for an extended period, making this proof difficult to obtain. For those times, do not lose hope; there are other forms of evidence used in court.

Contact
Almost 80% of sexual assault survivors know their assailant. It is highly likely individuals who sexually assault others will contact them before or after the experience.

Keep records of any contact with the defendant, including communication at work, in your personal life or with friends.

Photos and Documents
Similar to other crime scenes, evidence from the scene itself also plays a part in civil cases.
Trace and pattern evidence, such as hair follicles or shoe prints, can prove individuals were at the scene.

Alexander Truluck focuses his practice as a criminal defense attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.criminallawyerclearwaterflorida.com
or call (727) 799-3550

It was a great experience to live in the Tampa Bay area and experience all the things surrounding the Superbowl. The celebratory boat parade was certainly interesting, when Tom Brady threw the trophy to another boat when riding in water 80 feet deep. Fortunately Tom was not driving the boat.

We certainly saw a lot of law enforcement officials on TV before the event talking about criminal activity and human trafficking. The most recent Super Bowl LV in Tampa, FL resumed a common claim during Super Bowls past that major sports events such as these are a magnet for prostitution and sex trafficking.

Such claims are more myth than meaningful. There has never been any evidence that major sporting events are associated with a rise in human trafficking. Despite waves of ominous warnings every year, no city has demonstrated a rise in human trafficking before or after the big game.

That’s included Houston, where Super Bowl LI was held on Feb. 5, 2017. Arrest records after that event indicated low-level arrests for prostitution and driving under the influence. Two years later in Atlanta, an FBI raid timed to coincide with Super Bowl LIII was actually a routine roundup of sex workers.

No statistics are available yet from the most recent Super Bowl events in Tampa. But when the city previously hosted the Super Bowl in 2009, police said they didn’t find a large influx of prostitutes entering Tampa, and the number of arrests for prostitution was almost the same as at any other time.

Even when arrests rise, “There’s not any more trafficking. There are just more arrests,” said Blair Hopkins, Deputy Director of the Sex Workers Outreach Project Behind Bars, a nonprofit group which helps sex workers who are or have been jailed.

In Tampa, the organization has recently bailed out sex workers caught in pre-Super Bowl stings while attempting to put to rest the myth that sports events increasing human trafficking.

Alexander Truluck focuses his practice as a criminal defense attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.criminallawyerclearwaterflorida.com
or call (727) 799-3550.