Punishment for Rape | A Case of Assisting a Client Seeking to Avoid Punishment for Rape and Obtaining Non-Prosecution

After having drinks with an acquaintance, a woman, Ms. B (hereinafter the complainant), the client had sexual relations at the client's home.

At the time, the two had exchanged personal contact several times on the premise of a relationship.

However, a few days after the incident, the client received notice from the police that a complaint had been filed against the client on suspicion of 🔗rape.

The complainant claimed that, despite having expressed an intention of refusal, the client had forced sexual relations.

The client claimed that all conduct at the time had taken place with the complainant's explicit consent, but because there was no direct physical evidence to prove the conversation or the situation on the actual day of the incident, it was not easy to clear the suspicion.

Concerned not only about the possibility of criminal punishment but also about reputation within the workplace and social stigma, the client immediately requested assistance from an attorney specializing in rape cases.

Rape means having sexual intercourse with a person by force through assault or intimidation.

If rape is found, the offender may be subject to imprisonment for a definite term of at least three years under the Criminal Act.

In addition, for sexual offenses such as rape, beyond the criminal penalty, dispositions such as probation, community service, an order to attend lectures, registration and disclosure of personal information, and the attachment of an electronic location tracking device may be imposed.

In cases involving rape charges, in order to distinguish between the voluntariness and the coerciveness of the sexual relations, the task of carefully organizing not only the circumstances at the time of the incident but also the entire context before and after the incident is critical.

Through interviews with the client, the specialized attorney guided the client in preparing a detailed statement organized in chronological order, covering when the two first became acquainted, the circumstances under which they became friendly, and the sequence of events that led to the sexual relations on the day of the incident.

In particular, the attorney specified how the drinking gathering before the sexual relations came about, who proposed it first, and what conversations were exchanged, thereby emphasizing that it was a relationship in which there was mutual affection.

The attorney specializing in rape secured the original text messages exchanged between the client and the complainant before and after the incident and organized them as evidence.

The messages thereby secured included the following content.

▶Content in which the complainant first proposed the drinking gathering the day before the incident and said that it would be fine to have drinks at the client's home as a second round
▶Content in which everyday messages inquiring after each other's well-being were exchanged even after the incident

The specialist attorney pointed out that the complainant's conduct and expressions of emotion did not correspond to the reactions of a typical rape victim, and argued that the sexual intercourse in question had taken place by mutual consent.

When the complainant's claims and statements change inconsistently or conflict with objective facts, the investigative agency assesses their credibility as low.

The attorney in charge compared the complainant's written statement with the facts and pointed out that there were contradictions between the complainant's statement and conduct, thereby raising doubts about the credibility itself.