The Christmas party season is about to begin! However, for some unfortunate individuals, the festivities could lead to an unwanted criminal conviction for sexual assault – and the requirement to register as a sex offender, all because of a drunken dance.
It may sound like a dramatic outcome from dancing at a party, but without understanding the laws around sexual consent – and often, with the additional problem of clouded judgement due to drinking alcohol – many people can be shocked to find themselves being accused of sexual assault.
This blog explores what could happen if you are accused of sexual assault after touching someone while dancing with them, and how solicitors like ourselves could help you to avoid an unnecessary sexual offence charge in such a case.
What constitutes a sexual assault?
A person commits a sexual assault if they intentionally touch another person in a sexual manner, when the other person does not consent to it and the perpetrator had no reasonable belief that they consented to be touched in such a way.
The law can be very unfair if you happen to be arrested by the police following an allegation of such an offence being made against you.
Here is an example scenario:
You are at a party with a group of friends, talking and dancing. You find someone you are attracted to and you believe they are also attracted to you. You are both talking, laughing, and dancing together. A few drinks later, you put your arm around their waist to lead them to the dance floor.
You try to talk, but the music is loud, so you have to put your mouth to their ear so they can hear you. The music slows, so you hold them close as you dance together. At the end of the evening, you exchange phone numbers.
No problems, right?
Until the following day, when the police arrive at your home and arrest you for sexual assault by means of non-consensual sexual contact. Your mobile phone and laptop are seized by the police and you are taken to the police station for questioning.
You are offered a duty solicitor appointed by the police. You have no idea what the complaint is about, and the duty solicitor advises you to simply say, ‘no comment,’ in response to each question during the interview.
Sexual assault allegations after dancing
The allegation made against you is that you sexually assaulted someone the previous day – that you forcefully danced with them, touched their bottom, kissed their face, felt their chest, and pushed your groin into them. The police regard this as a serious sexual assault.
The complainant who made this allegation is very upset. It appears their partner found a text that you sent them at the end of the evening, saying that they had ‘a sexy body’.
Of course, in your opinion, this is all false. You accept that you touched the complainant’s waist as you led them to the dance floor – possibly touching their bottom slightly, but not intentionally. You had to speak close to their face because of the loud music, and your mouth may have touched their cheek, but you did not intend to kiss them.
You also accept that you may have inadvertently touched their chest as you were dancing together, but not in a sexual way. Whilst dancing close together, your groin area would probably have been close to them – because that can often happen when two people dance close together. You did send the complainant a text referring to them as sexy.
Since you have been advised not to answer any questions, you cannot give your version of events. The police believe you are guilty – partly because the current guidance is to automatically believe a person who alleges sexual assault, and partly because you refuse to respond to their questions.
Are you now thinking that you should agree to answer questions from the police? Possibly – but it does depend on how good your solicitor is.
Defence against sexual touching allegations
By answering questions, you are certainly able to give your opinion on the allegations and deny any sexual assault occurred, but you are also accepting that you were the person who danced with the complainant and held them closely – which helps the prosecution on a number of factual issues.
The only difference between what you believe happened and what makes it a sexual assault comes down to three key issues:
- Factually, did you touch the complainant sexually (kiss them, touch their chest, push your groin into them)?
- What did you intend to do?
- Did the complainant consent? What did you believe when it came to them consenting?
This is a scenario we are all too familiar with here at PCD Solicitors. So, let’s deal briefly with each point – illustrating the unfairness against anyone accused of sexual assault.
1) Did you touch them sexually?
On a factual basis, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the police need to prove that you touched the complainant sexually the way they allege that you did.
You deny any sexual touching, but the problem is that if you refused to answer questions in the police interview, then you have not actually denied the offence.
Even if you did answer questions and denied any sexual touching, the police think that people accused of sexual assault will deny the offence anyway – so they are unlikely to believe your denial and your version of events.
The result is that the CPS will often prosecute, because they conclude that only a court can properly hear all the evidence and a jury can then decide who to believe.
2) Did you intend to touch them sexually?
Even if you touched the complainant in sexual places, for example, their bottom or chest, it should not be considered sexual assault if this was accidental and/or you did not intend it to be sexual.
However, the CPS may decide that only a jury can properly assess what your intentions were after hearing your evidence in full.
3) Did you believe they consented?
Even if you did touch the complainant sexually, with the intention to do so, it still should not be considered sexual assault if they consented.
The complainant is saying that they did not consent. Your view, so far, is that there was nothing to consent to – because there was no sexual touching.
Should you answer police questions?
Would you be better off answering questions and explaining that you did meet the complainant, you flirted with each other at the party, you both drank and danced together, you held one another close, and your body may have touched theirs whilst dancing closely together – all with their consent?
A jury may be unlikely to convict you of sexual assault in such a case, but you would most likely still have to go to court and prove your side of the story.
It may only be possible to avoid going to court if you have an experienced solicitor working on your case from the start.
Potentially, it could be better for you to answer questions in interview – ensuring that your side of events is on record. If you initially answered, ‘no comment,’ it may be wise to request a further interview to then set out your case.
Preventing a sexual assault charge for dancing
In addition to having an experienced solicitor advising you through police interviews, it is also important for your solicitor to make representations to the CPS before any decision is made whether to charge you or not.
At PCD Solicitors, a large part of our defence work concerns trying to avoid a prosecution. We do this by liaising with the police as closely as possible – so when the police refer the case to the CPS to make a decision on whether to charge you, we can then make detailed legal arguments to show that the evidence does not meet their charging criteria.
For example, the CPS should consider whether there is a realistic prospect of a conviction before deciding whether or not to charge you with sexual assault. If conviction is not a realistic prospect, then you should not be charged – and should never go to court.
Should you fail to make representations to the CPS, then who will be defending your position? Of course, you can still defend yourself if you go to court, but by then, the damage may have already been done. You may have lost your job; your name may appear in the press. If people hear that you are in court for sex offences, this can be severely detrimental to your reputation.
How can sexual assault solicitors help?
It can take several months for the police to investigate such a complaint. During this time, we will get to know you and the details of your case, investigate the complainant and the facts as far as possible, liaise with the CPS, consider a further interview, put your version of the facts on record, and make detailed representations to the CPS at the appropriate time – all to try to prevent you from being charged with sexual assault.
As your solicitors, it may also be important for us to gather witness statements from people who can assist your case. Did anyone see you dancing with the complainant, drinking together, enjoying one another’s company, holding one another closely? These statements, presented in the correct legal format, will certainly help your defence if charged, but may also convince the CPS not to charge you.
Of course, we can also spend this time preparing your legal defence, in case you are charged. There is often very little time between being charged by the CPS and first appearing in court – usually just a couple of weeks.
Far better to have spent the preceding months working on all aspects of your defence in preparation of court proceedings, so all your bases are covered. We can try to stop a prosecution at the outset, but if the CPS still decides to prosecute, we will then be in the best position to defend you in court.
Regarding legal fees, we often do this work for a fixed fee – meaning you know from the outset what the cost will be. Regardless of how long we spend on your case prior to a charging decision – be it two months or two years – our fee remains the same.
Contact PCD Solicitors
If you have been accused of sexual assault in a similar scenario as described above, you should consult expert sexual assault defence solicitors like ourselves as soon as possible to make sure the case proceeds in your favour.
If you would like to discuss an ongoing case or potential criminal investigation for a sexual offence, please contact our office on 0151 705 8488.
Our first telephone consultation is always free of charge, and we can tell you at this stage what the fixed fee will be if we take on your case.
Alternatively, you can complete our online enquiry form, and one of our solicitors will be in touch to arrange a consultation and discuss your situation.