Can I Request a Re-Examination of Rape Charges

[alyricalliar]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: michigan

Back in July of 2011 my (then) boyfriend raped me.
we had gotten into a huge fight, and he requested 'make up sex'. at the time of the fight i was menstruating and made it very clear to him that i was not willing.
he continued to press the issue. he led me by the arm to his basement, laid me on his old bed, crawled on top of me, and proceeded to get the sex he desired.
the whole time it was happening i was crying, fighting, and screaming 'no!', 'stop!' repeatedly.

i attempted to report the rape in January 2012, but nothing was done due to lack of evidence.
i no longer know what to do. I'm curious how I would go about proving that this incident was in fact a rape, and if anything would even happen to him?

i feel like this is a real crime that he shouldn't be allowed to 'get away' with.

[Dogmatique]

I'd really love for you to seek counseling to help you get through this. Even if you did have evidence, you can't force the DA/PA to actually go ahead and prosecute.

I'm sorry.

[aardvarc]

Unfortunately, I have to agree with Doggie. Rape is a unique crime - it is based on the lack of consent of the victim COUPLED with knowledge of that lack of consent by the perpetrator (or where a jury would find that consent could not have been given, such as if intoxication was involved). Intent and consent occur in the mind, and the prosecution's ability to convince a jury that there was no consent is based on circumstantial evidence, rather than physical evidence, in some 94% of cases (last report I read from 2007 or 2008) - which is why sexual assaults between non-strangers is one of the least prosecuted crimes - whether gil/boyfriend or husband/wife. Even if the act of sex could be proven, which it can't now some 6 months later, that only proves sex - it doesn't actually address whether a crime occurred or not. You'll say it wasn't consensual, he'll say it was, the defense will point to a 6 month time lapse in the reporting of the incident (as opposed to the day in question) and lack of documented injury, and the DA will have no choice but to drop the case before it gets near a courtroom. DAs simply don't pursue cases that they know they have no possible chance of winning. It's a waste of their time, tax payer money to run it through the courts, and only serves to RE-victimize the victim when they watch the smug look on the face of the accused as they walk freely out of the courtroom because the state can't prove it's case. DAs try to avoid that.

As Doggie pointed out, any criminal case is entirely in the hands of the DA and while the facts here don't lend themselves to an attempt at prosecution, your reporting of the crime was still important. Should future incidents happen with other victims, and those victims pursue the matter with authorities, your already existing report can give GREAT weight to any future prosecution efforts, in that it can help to establish a potential pattern of behavior that can impact the outcome of a future similar case. What YOU have control over now is you - and the feeling of loss of control is a MAJOR long term effect of being victimized - so please, for your own well being, DO seek counseling to help you move through the various stages of victimization. Finding healthy outlets for the rage, fear, and mourning while being able to confront, digest, and cope with those feelings, is vital to being able to move past this and on to the life you want for yourself.

[cdwjava]

There's the problem ... you waited for 6 months to report the assault. Unfortunately, any physical evidence that might have existed was looooooong gone, and it would come down to his word against yours.

Now, if it comes out that there are ulterior motives for your reporting it 6 months later (like, he broke up with you and you got angry) that would also play against you.

Additionally, if you maintained a dating relationship (i.e. sex) with him during the intervening months, it would tend to damage credibility in a "he said, she said" case. A DA is generally not going to pursue a case where there is little to no real chance of obtaining a conviction.

If it happened as you say, then it WAS a "real crime. Unfortunately, it is not a crime that you will be easily proven unless he confesses. About the most that could be hoped for is that a pretext call from you and arranged by the police would result in him admitting to forcibly assaulting you for sex. But, given the time frame, they may not even want to give that a try.

I would strongly recommend counseling because, clearly, this is bothering you.

NOTE: And if this is the same guy who has filed for a PPO against you which the court has upheld after hearing, that might serve to further damage any credibility you might have had in this matter.

[alyricalliar]

thank you for all the information. and kind considerations.

yes; this is the same guy that managed to get a PPO against me. thankfully it was modified into a no contact order after the hearing i requested.

as for why i didn't file on the night it occurred; the obvious of i was scared and confused and unsure of if it would be considered a rape, domestic assault, or get thrown out as a 'misunderstanding'. we were also in a sexual relationship at the time, and had had intimate 'relations' (for lack of a better word) tons of times prior.
there was also a message sent between us detailing plans to have 'rough sex'. that message was sent almost 2 weeks prior to the rape, but that was what my ex used to discredit my accusations and testimony.
i loved him and didn't want him to go to jail. two weeks later we had sex again, and on that specific instance the condom broke and i got pregnant with his child. after finding that out i didn't dare to go to the cops and chance my child growing up with a father behind bars.

that pregnancy started a whole new set of issues. (but that's besides the point now) i miscarried at about 3 months.

i'm currently suffering from ptsd from the rape, and depression in response to losing a child. those issues have played a big part in my waiting to report the rape, but it's probably safe to make the assumption that those issues would also serve to discredit my claims?

my ex is using his new girlfriend as his legal counsel, and for some reason the police are allowing this to happen. (she even tried to act as his 'lawyer' when we went to court for the PPO)

i'm sure all of these things and emotions don't stand in place of actual proof and concrete evidence. but is there ANYTHING i can do to at least 'protect' myself, or save another woman from going thru this?

[cdwjava]

First, unless his girlfriend is an actual attorney, the police are not allowing her to act in his stead. If he refuses to talk to them and sens messages through her, they might accept those messages, but it's neither legal representation or evidence.

Second, you have done all you can to report the rape. The report is there and if there are future accusations against him some day down the road, this will be there for all to see.

As it stands, I do not see any real chance of this going to trial without an admission on his part.

Since you say you are suffering from PTSD and depression, I assume this is not a self-diagnosis but an actual diagnosis by a medical professional? If you are not in counseling, you really should be.

Good luck.