SEX OFFENSE CHARGES & TITLE 9 COLLEGE SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS

In some ways accusations of sex offense are the scariest to defend because on the surface they appear to boil down to “she said – he said”. But we have learned favorable evidence can be found when we investigate early and thoroughly. We seek the following things as quickly as we can from our client and any witnesses:

• Text and instant messages
• Snapchat Stories, Instagram posts etc.
• Photos from parties, bars, and gatherings
• Geo-location data from smart phones

We have learned that the skills from years of defending sex offense cases in state criminal court translate to defending college sexual misconduct cases.  We immediately request the college to preserve and download data and information such as:

• Dorm hallway surveillance camera footage
• Student ID “swipes”, i.e. data showing exact times students swiped into dorms or campus buildings, or bought food or drink
• Records of prior accusations by the accuser

We also try like hell to interview as many students as possible who encountered the accuser and the person accused on the night of the event, as well as the day before and day after.  (We hire intrepid private investigators who are good at getting witnesses to open up and talk.)

We have found that by doing this strong investigation, we can put together a timeline of events and communications that give context to what really happened.

The main problem with college campus sexual misconduct cases in today’s world is that the college employees are trained to start by believing the accuser, period.

We have figured out how to fight back against this presumption of guilt.