Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Assault & Misconduct

Sexual offences are some of the most common charges dealt with by the criminal courts in Queensland. A number of recent high-profile cases from around the country have highlighted some of the difficulties that can arise in attempting to defend charges of this nature.

If you find yourself the subject of allegations of unlawful sexual conduct the steps you take, or don’t take, early on – even before you’ve received any contact from the police – can make a huge difference to the outcome of your matter.

The following are some key pieces of general advice for anyone who has reason to believe they may be the subject of allegations regarding unlawful sexual conduct.

1. Get some proper advice

Without a doubt the most important step a person who believes they may be the subject of these types of allegations can take is to obtain some proper advice by speaking to a lawyer who specialises in criminal defence.

Sometimes this advice may be as simple as reassuring you that you are taking the right steps already and ensuring that you know how to respond if contacted by the police and who to contact for further advice.

In other cases, this may involve your lawyer contacting the police to obtain further information so that they can explain the situation and your options to you and guide you through the investigation process.

Whatever the situation, if you become aware that you may be the subject of allegations of this nature, obtaining some proper advice from a criminal defence lawyer will ensure that you are doing everything that you can to protect yourself.

2. Do not have any contact with the person making the allegations against you

For many people, their immediate urge upon hearing allegations like this have been made against them is to contact the person making the allegations.

In some cases, this may be because they feel there has been a misunderstanding and they will be able to make the situation go away by simply explaining themselves. In other cases, they may be angry to hear the allegations being made and wish to confront their accuser. Whatever the reason, this is a very bad idea.

This is because discussing the matter with the person making the allegation is very unlikely to result in the withdrawal of the allegation, particularly if the matter has already been reported to police. Even in circumstances where a complaint hasn’t been made to police and the accuser states they don’t intend to take the matter further, there are no guarantees they won’t change their mind at a later stage, and this is unlikely to provide much in the way of ongoing piece of mind.

More importantly, discussing the allegation with the person making the complaint carries an enormous risk that you will be creating evidence that can later be used against you. A common police investigative strategy in matters like these (referred to as a pre-text phone call) involves having the complainant phone the person they have made the accusation about and discussing the allegations with them. The complainant meanwhile is making the call from a police station and the entire call is being recorded to be used as evidence. This can also be done by messages or emails.

3. Avoid discussing the allegations with anyone else (other than your lawyer)

You should avoid discussing the allegations against you with anyone else other than your lawyer.

The simple reason for this is that in Queensland only discussions with your lawyer can be considered ‘privileged’ and unable to be relied upon as evidence against you in court. For discussions you have with anyone else there is always a risk that that person could be required to give evidence of what you have discussed in court.

This can be difficult when well-meaning and concerned friends and family want to discuss the matter with you or find out what is going on, particularly where they may have heard about the allegations through other means.

From the point of view of protecting yourself, you do this best by avoiding any discussions about the allegations with anyone other than your lawyer.

4. Do not discuss the allegations over social media

You should make sure that you do not have any discussions relating to the allegations over social media or other electronic communications (such as WhatsApp or Snapchat). If you were to discuss the allegations with people via social media or other electronic communications then you risk creating evidence that could be relied upon by the Police and the Prosecution in any proceedings against you.

Investigating police commonly seize electronic devices and conduct downloads of all available data from the device. This can include social media data and even messages that have been deleted.

By not discussing anything to do with the allegations through electronic communications you are removing the risk that something you have typed or posted is later relied upon as evidence against you.

5. Police interviews

If a complaint is made to the police and they are investigating the allegations, in most cases at some point they will contact you and offer you the opportunity to participate in an interview. This invitation may not be worded so formally and is often referred to as an opportunity for you to tell them your side of the story or to hear the allegations that have been made against you.

It is extremely important that you obtain proper legal advice before answering any questions the police may have for you or participating in an interview.

In Queensland, there is no obligation upon the subject of an investigation to participate in an interview with police or answer questions regarding the allegations made against them. Whether or not you choose to participate in an interview with police is a very important decision that can have enormous consequences for you in terms of the outcome of your matter.

Quite often, criminal defence lawyers will advise their clients against participating in interviews with police, even where the client may be of the view that they have done nothing wrong, on the basis that doing so will have no benefit for the client.

However, by seeking proper advice from a lawyer who specialises in criminal defence before making this decision you can ensure that you are advised of all potential benefits and risks in your specific situation before deciding how to proceed.

6. Keep any material that may be relevant/useful

A final step that can often be useful upon hearing allegations of this nature have been made against you is to turn your mind to any material that you may have that contradicts or casts doubt upon the allegations against you.

This could include things like messages from the person making the allegations from around the time of the alleged incident or in the period following, it could also include photos or videos of your interactions with this person.

By turning your mind to this material early on and ensuring that it is stored somewhere safe you will ensure you are able to access it later on if necessary.

The above are some general tips for anyone who may find themselves dealing with allegations relating to sexual misconduct. In every case, the single most effective way to protect yourself is to obtain proper advice regarding your specific circumstances from a lawyer who specialises in criminal defence.

If you have concerns that allegations of this nature have been made about you contact us to arrange a conference with one of our criminal defence lawyers today.