Can you be at fault for having sex with a girl that is drunk?

Question Details:

If a girl had been drinking but is aware of what she is doing and she directs you to where to get the condom and lube which is hidden under her bathroom sink, she then asks you to have sex and you do it. Then the next day she claims that she did not remember anything but feels that she have been violated. Can you be at fault for that?

Asked 11/3/2009 under Criminal Defense | 897 View(s) | More Legal Topics

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Criminal Defense Law Answers

Henry Lebensbaum / Law Office of Henry Lebensbaum Answered 2 years ago | Contributor This attorney is licensed in Massachusetts

The potential problems are substantial.  The actual problems are unknown. Yes, you can be at fault if it proven that she was inacapable of consent.

 Speak to no one, and get a lawyer, or call me.

I don't think so.  However, in any case like this, where two people have very different versions of the "facts," credibility -- how likely it is that a person's testimony would be believed -- becomes all-important.

You were in her home and the two of you were drinking, that's not going to be disputed.  If she tells the police she can't remember what happened at night, but "feels" that she "may have been" violated, the police are likely to tell her not to drink so much next time, and go home:  that kind of testimony is so far from proving rape, much less proving it beyond a reasonable doubt, that it's a waste of time to pursue it.

If you're charged (or sued by the woman), get a lawyer.  The way you win the credibility battle is cross-examination, the lawyer's art.

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