Satawa Law, PLLC. recently has won another Title IX hearing, as the office for title 9 and institutional equity at University in Western Michigan “unanimously determined that the preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that the responded engaged in sexual assault or sexual harassment.”Read More
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Sex crime investigations typically begin when either the victim or someone on the victim’s behalf contacts the police to report a sex crime. In cases involving adults, the adult themself will typically contact the police, whereas in cases involving children, a parent or family member will often reach out on the child’s behalf.
There are also people in Michigan known as mandatory reporters, meaning that they are legally obligated to report any sexual assault accusations involving a child that they are aware of through a form called a 3200. This report discloses any knowledge they have about the alleged assault and is often enough to kick an investigation into high gear.
This can depend on your circumstances and is a wonderful testament to the importance of hiring an attorney to assist you in your case. In many instances, consenting to provide information such as DNA samples and fingerprints can help you defend your case. However, you are under no obligation to provide these things to the police if they could be inconclusive or harmful to the outcome of the investigation.
While you are not required to answer any questions, you may be subject to processing if you are arrested, meaning that the authorities will have the right to take fingerprints and photographs of you. You do not have the right to refuse this, but you can refuse to provide samples of your DNA, voice exemplars, and handwriting. If a search warrant becomes involved, it’s even more important to work with your attorney so that you can avoid creating bigger problems for yourself by refusing to cooperate.
Investigators can and will access your devices, but they will either need your consent for the search, or a search warrant to conduct a search. Phones, laptops, and other mobile devices are critical to sexual assault accusations in this day and age, as so many people catalog so much of their lives on their phones, tablets, and computers. For this reason, investigators will desperately want to search your devices by any means necessary.
Oftentimes, investigators will begin their efforts to access your devices with a request for your consent, as it can be very difficult to convince a judge or magistrate to issue a search warrant for a cell phone. It is important to work with an attorney who can protect you from being convinced to consent to investigators’ access to your devices, in which case an investigator may resort to other means of tracing your digital footprint.
Investigators can make use of resources such as service providers, social media accounts, and email records to build a case against you. While there are restrictions in place to protect your information in these circumstances, the companies who have been subpoenaed to provide this information will often concede in order to avoid legal complications. Ultimately, investigators will still be able to access a good deal of your digital footprint, regardless of whether or not you allow them access to your devices.
Even without formal charges, you can still be arrested during an investigation in Michigan based on a police officer having probable cause that you committed a felony. The police are required to take their probable cause arrest to a prosecutor within 48 hours, so you can be held for up to 48 hours before the law decides if you can be released or not. If you are not issued formal charges within 48 hours, you can contact an attorney to ask a judge to have you released by the police by way of a writ.
If you are arrested, any formal charges will typically be issued within 48 hours. If charges are not issued, you will typically be released, potentially subject to further investigation. The police can continue an investigation after your release if they choose, but it is not uncommon to see an arrest before formal charges are issued.
The most important role your attorney will play is being your mouthpiece during an investigation. Watching what you say is absolutely crucial, and your attorney will prevent you from saying things that can incriminate you and be used against you in court.
Second, your lawyer will provide you with valuable legal advice throughout your investigation. When you are unsure of whether to consent to a polygraph test or provide a DNA sample, your attorney can point you in the right direction and help you to best protect your case.
Additionally, your attorney should be conducting an active investigation to prepare your defense by establishing a timeline, contacting witnesses, working with you to save evidence/documentation (such as texts, emails, voicemails, cell phone call logs, and social media posts), and gathering necessary evidence. Ultimately, hiring a lawyer will prepare you for the strongest possible defense against your obligations.
Finally, your attorney can help to protect you from the many creative, and yet common, forms of supplemental police investigation. The best example of this is the staged phone call. Often a suspect will receive a phone call from the alleged victim (if the victim is an adult), or a parent, guardian, or relative (if the victim is a child). In that phone call the caller will accuse the suspect of sexual assault, and demand answers. This phone call is a trap, because it is being made in conjunction with the police, and the police are present and recording everything that is said. Frequently, an unwitting suspect will do things that will make them sound guilty, like apologize, give a partial admission about some of the accusations, or even a full confession. Working closely with your attorney can help prevent you from creating the most important piece of evidence that could help lead to your conviction.
These kinds of cases are actually the norm these days, not the exception. Police and prosecutors generally believe sexual assault to be a crime that occurs in private, so there are often no witnesses or physical evidence.
In fact, there is a law in Michigan that says a victim’s testimony does not need to be supported by any other pieces of evidence, so testimony from other witnesses and physical evidence are not required. As a result, if your case proceeds to trial the jury will be read an instruction that the alleged victim’s testimony is not required to be cooperated in order to support a conviction, if that testimony convinces the jury of your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This means that testimony alone can be enough to convict you of a sexual assault crime if the jury rules in favor.
If you need assistance with Navigating A Sex Crime Investigation In Michigan, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (248) 509-0056 today.