How come sexual assault is one of hardest crime to prosecute vs every other crime?
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Former prosecutor here – child molestation cases were the hardest ones to win. It was often the word of the child vs the offender with little corroborating evidence. The child often would not testify or did so poorly, while the predator was a polished and well presenting adult.
The key is locking in other evidence and allowing the child to testify remotely. The jury can see the child but the child is off site and appearing via video. They can only see the attorney asking questions.
Two cases really stick with me through the years. In one, a woman was jogging in a state park. A man was playing with his kids at a nearby splash pad. He saw her, hid along the trail, and ambushed and raped her. She was pregnant, miscarried, caught an incurable STD, and her fiancée broke up with her afterwards. The offender was convicted, but she later killed herself.
The second was a man who vaginally raped his five year old daughter. She caved on the stand, despite testifying remotely, and would only cry. Fortunately, the offender called someone immediately after his arrest and said “go to my house and get the bloody panties out of the washer…get rid of them”. The line was recorded. I played that for the jury and it still took them three days of deliberation to convict him. He received 2 life sentences plus 100 years and will never be a free man again.
Another widespread problem is the turnover of prosecutors. States often pay prosecutors on par with state troopers, despite the attorneys having 7 years of education and $200k plus in student loan debt. As a result, the good ones leave for greener pastures because private law firms will pay top dollar for jury trial experience. I did this after 6 years with the State, and my salary tripled over night.
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