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In late February of 2017, in Salt Lake City, UT, hundreds of individuals gathered to protest Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s signing of a new law that increases the penalties for polygamists convicted of committing fraud or abuse. The new law is part of a larger ongoing conversation about the criminalization of polygamy in the State. In…
Child Rape or Child Sex Case (Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child, Sodomy Upon a Child, Lewdness Involving a Child)–in these cases, a child sometimes “remembers” sexual abuse that happened years earlier at ages as young as 18 months. You’ll see cases in which a 14 year old girl, for example, will remember being sexually…
Being investigated for rape or sexual abuse of a child? Too many make the mistake of waiting to hiring a lawyer. This is the most critical portion of the case sometimes. Police officers often tell suspects they don’t need a lawyer and that telling their side of the story will curry favor with the prosecutor. Nothing…
There has been a lot in the news lately regarding rape kits that have not been processed by law enforcement in Utah. Fortunately, because of some federal grants and a $750,000 alottment by the Utah State Legislature, all of these untested kits can be processed. In the past, because of the lack of unlimited funds,…
What type of experts can you expect to have testify at rape trial in Utah? For starters, it is likely that the complainant was asked to undergo a rape examination by a nurse who is trained specifically to conduct a rape examination. The exam consists of an interview of the complainant who describes the details of…
In rape and sexual abuse of a child investigations, the detective will usually call the suspect to get her “side of the story.” After charges are filed, a defendant calls to ask me if the interview can be thrown out becuase the officer did not read her Miranda warnings. Most people, because of crime shows, are…
The vast majority of rape and sexual abuse of a child cases involve little to no physical evidence–no DNA, no injuries, no other tell-tell signs of abuse. I can’t tell you how many times a client has asked me, “you mean they can charge me with rape and there is no evidence of rape?” …
Many times, a detective and/or a prosecutor asks a suspect to take a polygraph examination to determine whether s/he is telling the truth with regards to a rape or child sex offense investigation. A polygraph is used an investigative tool for these types of offenses because of the “he said/she said” nature of these cases. Most…
Last week, we discussed date rape and how that can prove to be a problem for people who go to parties or similar activities. Following up on that post, we are going to discuss some of the most common reasons why false accusations of rape are common. Our readers in Utah might find this information…
Being accused of sexual assault is something that might make you shake your head because you just don’t know what you did that wasn’t right. The problem with our society as a whole is that people are beginning to get very touchy about certain things, and one of those is sexual assault. While crimes like…