If an attacker is outed for his crime, can he take legal action against the victim for outing him?
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If an attacker is outed for his crime, can he take legal action against the victim for outing him?
A friend of mine has been going to
therapy and finally come to terms with
the fact that she was manipulated into
having sexual relations with her high
school teacher. She was 17 and he
was in his late 30’s/early 40’s.
Unfortunately, the statue of limitations has been passed at this point, so she can’t do anything legally against him now. However, she wants to prevent this from happening to any other young women he might come into contact with. If she were to write to any previous or current employers/volunteering organizations he works with and tell them the story without identifying herself, could he legally do anything against her in retaliation? He will likely figure out who the letter is from even if she doesn’t identify herself, so she is worried of what he could do in return, if anything.
Asked on June 28, 2018 under Personal Injury, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
IF she sticks 100% to the truth, no embellishments or inaccuracies, then legally, she has done nothing wrong--any person may tell any other person any true facts so long as there is no court order or contract (e.g. a confidetiality agreement) barring her from doing so.
That said:
1) Just because legally, you have done nothing wrong if you tell people the truth, that won't stop him from tying to sue her for defamation--that is, filing a lawsuit that she'd have to respond to and deal with. Even winning the case could take time, effort, and money (if she hires a lawyer) and force her to spend more time interacting with him.
2) If she says anything that is factually untrue or which she cannot prove is true (since if you can't prove it, in many ways, it may as well be untrue), he would have a valid defamation case against her.
Finally, and a legal consideration per se, but a strategic one: if your friend succeeds in ruining his life, there's a possibility he will retaliate, possibly even violently--people who have nothing left to lose because they've already lost so much can be dangerous.
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