Ask any of the best Connecticut criminal lawyers and attorneys: arrests on Connecticut college campuses like UConn, Yale, Fairfield University and Quinnipiac for sexual misconduct and drug use are more rampant than ever.
It’s an epidemic, and the problem is that college-bound students—especially male students—have no idea how to protect themselves.
So for starters, here are 3 tips to embed into your Connecticut college-bound students that will hopefully keep them safe and prevent them from being arrested at UConn, Fairfield University, Quinnipiac or any other Connecticut college or university…
Some Gen Xers may remember their college years with memories of fraternity parties, keg parties, drinking, marijuana use and “hooking up.” The days of getting drunk, high and hooking up are over, however. In today’s law enforcement circles in Connecticut—that’s called rape and sexual assault in the First and Second degrees.
That’s right—if a male or female student makes a complaint to any Connecticut university employee about feeling taken advantage sexually, while under the influence, Connecticut police will almost always launch a sex assault / rape investigation. Under Connecticut’s sexual assault and rape laws, any sexual contact with someone who is mentally and physically impaired by the effects of drugs or alcohol is not consensual, even if both parties said “yes” to the sexual contact. This can get you arrested in Connecticut for statutory rape. For more info on this crime, follow this link to fully understand the definition and consequences of a Connecticut statutory rape arrest.
Many college and university campuses are now adopting policies of “affirmative consent” for sexual contact between students. This is a critical and dramatic change in policy from the old days of “no means no.” Now, in order for sexual contact to be considered consensual on college campuses (and not a crime of rape or sexual assault), each participant must affirmatively, explicitly and verbally communicate their consent to each stage of the sexual contact.
Parents, explain this to your kids. Just because a girl consents to getting to “second base” doesn’t mean she consents to your son having any additional sexual contact. The boy must get verbal consent for each new act of sexual contact.
Which begs the question: if one of the parties decides to accuse your son or daughter of rape, how can you prove affirmative consent after-the-fact? That’s the million dollar question and that’s why your kids have to be extremely on guard and not act recklessly when it comes to sex and fooling around.
So parents, scare them about these new affirmative consent rules – and have them read an earlier blog of mine which dives deep into these affirmative consent rules being enforced on Connecticut college and university campuses.
As the best statutory rape criminal lawyers at UConn, Quinnipiac and Fairfield University know, many rape accusation cases are he-said / she-said and usually unfold days after the sexual contact took place. This means that one of the key elements of any sexual assault case—the sexual contact intercourse or contact itself—may be difficult to prove. There usually is no DNA evidence or forensic evidence. Just the accusations themselves.
This means that if your son or daughter confesses to Connecticut university police or school investigators that there was in fact sexual contact, then they’ve significantly hurt their chances of avoiding prosecution.
Bottom line: don’t say a word to school officials or investigating police officers until you’ve had a chance to speak with a top Connecticut sex crimes or drug crimes criminal lawyer attorneys. They can advise you on how to protect yourself from false rape accusations or false drug use allegations. Remember, don’t ever lie to the police; instead, tell them that you want to talk to a lawyer before speaking with them and schedule an appointment to talk with them in a day or two. And finally, don’t be intimidated or pressured to speak with them, as Connecticut police will sometimes try to scare you into talking with them before you’ve had a chance to speak with a lawyer.
Since 2002, the Mark Sherman Law Firm has been advising students and families at UConn, Yale, Quinnipiac, Fairfield University and colleges and universities all over the country in highly sensitive campus sex assault and drug cases. Our team of Connecticut criminal and school discipline attorneys are experienced at handling the criminal, Title IX and university discipline proceeding components of sex assault and drug cases. It may be helpful to check out our certified former client reviews on the Avvo.com client review website.
So if you are being investigated for sex assault, rape or drug possession or distribution on any Connecticut college campus, then give us a call today. We are available 24/7 at (203) 358-4700.