False Accusation of Sexual Assault Lawyer New Jersey

Someone who learns that an accusation of sexual assault has been made, and who says the accusation is untrue, is in a difficult position from the first moment. The denial changes nothing about what happens next. An investigation proceeds on its own terms, the State decides whether to bring a charge, and if a charge is brought the matter moves through the courts the same way any other criminal matter does. What the denial does do is set the terms of the defense. The question in a courtroom becomes what the State can establish about each element of the statute it has charged.

New Jersey has no offense named rape. Allegations of that kind are charged under N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-2 as aggravated sexual assault, a crime of the first degree, or as sexual assault, a crime of the second degree, and under N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-3 as aggravated criminal sexual contact, a crime of the third degree, or as criminal sexual contact, a crime of the fourth degree. Each of those offenses is assembled from terms defined in N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-1, and each element is something the State carries the burden of proving.

An accusation is not proof. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. was founded in 1997, and Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., is a former prosecutor. Request a consultation by calling (888) 437-7747.

On this page

What the State Must Prove, and What a Denial Does Not Change

A defense built on the position that an accusation is untrue is still, in a courtroom, a defense addressed to elements. N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-1 defines the terms the offenses are made of: actor, victim, sexual penetration, sexual contact, intimate parts, severe personal injury, physically helpless, mentally incapacitated, and coercion. A charge under N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-2 or N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-3 has to fit those definitions, subsection by subsection, and the State bears the burden on each of them.

Which subsection is charged shapes everything that follows. Subsection a. of 2C:14-2 makes sexual penetration aggravated sexual assault in defined circumstances, including where the victim is under 13, where the victim is 13 to 15 and the actor stands in a specified relationship of authority, where the act occurs during an enumerated predicate felony, where the actor is armed, where the actor is aided and abetted and acts by coercion or without affirmative and freely-given permission, where coercion or the absence of permission causes severe personal injury, and where the victim is known to be physically helpless, incapacitated, or mentally impaired. Subsection b. addresses sexual contact with a victim under 13 by an actor at least four years older. Subsection c. addresses penetration by coercion or without affirmative and freely-given permission, and penetration in custodial, familial, age-gap, and pupil-teacher relationships.

The date of the alleged conduct is a live legal question rather than background. The 2019 amendments, P.L.2019, c.108 and P.L.2019, c.474, replaced physical force or coercion in several paragraphs with coercion or without the victim’s affirmative and freely-given permission, and conduct alleged to have occurred before those amendments is governed by the earlier text. The consequences of a conviction reach beyond a sentence as well: N.J.S.A. § 2C:7-2 lists aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a child under N.J.S.A. § 2C:24-4a., and criminal sexual contact under 2C:14-3b. where the victim is a minor among its registrable offenses.

How Mr. Sris and the Firm’s Of Counsel Attorneys Handle These Cases

Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys do not undertake to decide who is telling the truth. That is not the function of defense counsel, and no lawyer can perform it. The work is narrower and more concrete: to identify the statute and subsection at issue, to determine what the State would have to establish for each element, and to test the record it has assembled against the definitions in N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-1.

Preservation comes first, because records disappear on their own. Messages, call logs, application data, location and access records, photographs, receipts, and the names of people who were present are gathered while they can still be gathered. A client who says an accusation is untrue often has documentary material that no one has asked for yet, and material of that kind loses value once a device is reset, an account lapses, or an application deletes its own history.

Contact is the second early question. The firm advises clients not to communicate with the person who made the report, and not to have others do so on their behalf, and to route communications through counsel instead. The third is the client’s own account. A statement given to police without counsel is difficult to revisit later, and the decision whether and when to speak is made deliberately rather than in the first hour of a phone call. Alongside that work, the defense obtains and reviews discovery, examines how each account was taken and recorded, compares successive versions, and establishes the date question raised by the 2019 amendments.

The Attorneys and the Firm

Mr. Sris is the Owner and Founder of the firm, which was founded in 1997. He is a former prosecutor, and he is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. Having previously worked on the charging side, he reads a file the way it was built, which is element by element rather than as a narrative.

Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys handle New Jersey matters brought under Chapter 14 together. The firm concentrates in criminal defense and has practiced in that area since 1997, and no attorney at the firm promises an outcome in any matter. Assignments are made by what a matter requires rather than by a fixed roster. What can be said is what the work consists of: the statute, the elements, the record, and the timeline.

Many people in this position learn of an accusation before any charge exists, sometimes through a call from police and sometimes through a letter or a message from someone else. That period is short and consequential. Records are easiest to preserve early, before anything is deleted or overwritten. The firm maintains a 24/7 phone intake so that a call can be placed at the point an accusation surfaces. Request a consultation by calling (888) 437-7747.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does New Jersey have an offense called rape?

No. New Jersey has no offense of that name. The analogous charges appear in N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-2, which defines aggravated sexual assault as a crime of the first degree and sexual assault as a crime of the second degree, and in N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-3, which defines aggravated criminal sexual contact as a crime of the third degree and criminal sexual contact as a crime of the fourth degree. If you have been told you are accused of rape, the practical question is which of those sections and subsections is actually involved.

What can someone do first when an accusation is made?

Preserve what exists and slow down the decisions that cannot be undone. Messages, photographs, call logs, and access records are worth keeping intact rather than deleting or reorganizing. It also helps to write down, for counsel alone, what you recall about dates, times, and who else was present, while the details are fresh. Speaking with the person who made the report, or asking someone else to, creates problems rather than solving them. Counsel can then take up the question of whether and when to speak with police.

Does the State have to prove each element of the statute it charges?

Yes. An accusation, by itself, is not proof of anything. A charge under N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-2 or N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-3 is made up of specific elements, and the terms those elements use, including sexual penetration, sexual contact, intimate parts, physically helpless, mentally incapacitated, and coercion, are defined in N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-1. The State carries the burden on every element of the subsection it has charged. That is the framework a defense is built inside, whatever a person says about the accusation itself.

Can defense counsel be involved before a charge is filed?

Yes, and that is frequently when the practical work begins. Whether to bring a charge is a decision the State makes, and no lawyer controls it or can promise how it will come out. What counsel can do during that period is preserve records before they are lost, handle contacts from investigators, and take up the question of whether a client should give a statement at all. If you learn of an investigation before any charge exists, that is a reason to seek advice sooner rather than waiting.

Does an accusation by itself create a registration obligation?

No. Registration under N.J.S.A. § 2C:7-2, the Megan’s Law registration statute, attaches to convictions for the offenses that section lists, which include aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a child under N.J.S.A. § 2C:24-4a., and criminal sexual contact under 2C:14-3b. where the victim is a minor. An accusation is not a conviction. The registration consequences attached to particular offenses are, however, a reason the subsection charged deserves attention early.

This page provides general information and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Attorney responsible for this advertising: Mr. Sris.