Saturday, March 13, 2010

Ben Roethlisberger’s sexual assault allegations: the smart way to handle.

Recently, another shocking new development ensued in the life of the $102 million QB of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The proud franchise with its 7 Super Bowl wins and the tradition and pride that it has established throughout the Rooney family ownership is seeing its reputation affected through allegations faced by its Super Bowl MVP quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. This is the second such allegation against Roethlisberger in two years. The first was not pursued by Lake Tahoe police, but it resulted in a civil suit against Roethlisberger.

On March 7th, it is alleged that after a night of partying in a college bar in Georgia, Roethlisberger sexually assaulted a 20 year college woman. This type of allegations are very serious, and generally speaking when something like this hits the press in relation to a professional public figure it usually alleges a crime of violence such as forcible intercourse or something just sort of that. Of course, it is just as likely that nothing happened, and ulterior motives are inspiring the allegations. However, once such allegations of sexual assault make it to the police, a serious and potentially life altering investigations begins, and the Roethlisberger matter is just that. Perhaps worse, due to the harsh “court of public opinion,” despite the Constitutional protections, Roethlisberger faces an uphill battle of clearing his name and defending his life and reputation.

At this point in time, Roethlisberger and his team of attorneys are handling such allegations the right way. Whenever such allegations are put forth, the police will be investigating and they will focus their investigations in two aspects.

First, they will attempt to gather evidence of the complainant’s demeanor shortly after the alleged crime, whether there is any evidence, physical or verbal from other corroborating witnesses, that she/he was indeed sexually assaulted.

Second, the police always attempt to give the accused an “opportunity to explain himself/herself.” This is nothing more than an attempt to obtain a confession. Seldom if ever will an accused go to the police, make a statement without the consultation and presence of an attorney, and get himself/herself out of whatever allegations were thrown at him/her. By hiring an attorney, the accused is assuring that the police attempted contact with him/her will always be screened by his/her attorney, and therefore the possibility of making incriminating statements is greatly diminished.

Roethlisberger is doing the right thing. He has hired an attorney and is making no statements. While the press is reporting that he is cooperating with the police, what is truly taking place is that the attorney is handling the investigation phase of this criminal matter. The attorney is the one who is making contact with the police, he is attempting to extrapolate additional information regarding the allegations, and he is insulating his client from making potentially fatal statements to the police.

When facing with such an accusation, the prudent and smart thing to do is to simply demand an attorney when the phone call from the police comes. That phone call will always come, as it is the easiest way for the police and prosecution to obtain a conviction through a confession. Hiring an attorney to handle such an investigation into a sexual assault is a well worth investment, as the penalties are very harsh, and convictions virtually always result in prison or jail time.

When facing with such an accusation, the prudent and smart thing to do is to simply demand an attorney when the phone call from the police comes. That phone call will always come, as it is the easiest way for the police and prosecution to obtain a conviction through a confession. Hiring an attorney to handle such an investigation into a sexual assault is a well worth investment, as the penalties are very harsh, and convictions virtually always result in prison or jail time.

The attorneys at the Law Offices of Raymond Cassar, PLC have over 45 years of experience of handling nothing but criminal defense. Handling criminal investigations and providing aggressive representation is all we do, and we are here to help you. For more information on how the attorneys at the Law Offices of Raymond Cassar, PLC can help you in such circumstances please feel free to call us: 248-855-0911 or 313-278-8811, or visit our web site at: http://www.crimlawattorney.com/

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