Whenever the subject of rape is brought up, it isn't popular to say that false rape accusations are real and common. You can find posts about how you are more likely to be hit by a falling asteroid than be falsely accused of rape. If this is the case, I've met many extremely unlucky men, who would much rather have been hit by an asteroid than have their lives ruined by false allegations in Adams, Denver, and Douglas County. The problem with not believing that false rape accusations exist, is that those who are falsely accused aren't treated with the justice they deserve.

Victims of False Accusations aren't Treated like Victims

There is no sympathy in our culture today for people who are falsely accused of sexual assault. In fact, our society thrives on sensationalistic news, reveling in victims and their pain. So, when a “victim” turns out not to be a victim, the public is disappointed. Don't believe me? In recent news, a well-known singer was falsely accused of rape by a fan. He immediately took action, filing a suit against her. The woman apologized, and the singer publicly accepted her apology, and dropped the suit against her. In the words of one author writing for Bustle:

“It's been quite a roller-coaster for both parties. The news that…[the] accusations are false is crushingly disappointing….false rape accusations are incredibly harmful to rape victims.”

While we agree with this author on one point (false rape accusations are harmful to real victims), to say that finding out the allegations are true is “crushingly disappointing?” That's a bit extreme. She goes on to say:

“Moving past this allows more attention to be focused on the more pressing issue: fighting real sexual violence. Yes, a famous singer songwriter was falsely accused of sexual assault. But every two minutes, another person is sexually assaulted in America.”

When the author says the fake accusations were a “roller-coaster for both parties” and downplays the wrong done to the singer, it illustrates our culture's oversight when it comes to false rape accusations. Also, this is a false statement: Only one person's life and reputation was on the line.

Innocent People are Imprisoned in Colorado

When people downplay false rape accusations, saying they don't happen very often, they are harming victims of fake allegations. I have defended many innocent men who were falsely accused of sexual assault in Jefferson, El Paso, and Arapahoe County. [pullquote align=”right” textalign=”right” width=”30%”]Sending innocent people to prison for the rest of their lives is never a good trade-off.[/pullquote]And, since there are rarely any witnesses in cases of rape, these men are convicted based solely on one person's testimony. There is rarely any physical evidence. This means a woman can accuse a man of sexually assaulting her with no evidence, and the man can go to prison, be labeled as a sex offender, and go through sex offender treatment – even though he did nothing wrong. And, before you think a few innocent men convicted of rape is a fair price to pay for catching true predators, consider that the sentence for Sexual Assault is indeterminate. This means a person will be sentenced with no upper limit on time in prison. There are hundreds of people in the Department of Corrections who are waiting for sex offender treatment, spending their lives in prison. Sending innocent men and women to prison for the rest of their lives is never a good trade-off. It just isn't justice.

If you or a loved one is facing false rape accusations, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at the O'Malley Law Office for a free consultation at 303-830-0880. Together, we can protect your future.