Who would’ve thunk? Washington DC police are searching for two women accused of sexual assault—accused of twerking to background music playing in a DC area gas station. DC police are calling it a sexual assault. And as much of a joke as this may sound at first, a closer look at the video surveillance recordings reveals two women allegedly forcing themselves upon an unsuspecting male gas station customer who was just dying to get a cup of coffee—twerk-free!
However, the bigger issue here…and the one that resonates most with the best Stamford & Greenwich Connecticut sexual assault criminal lawyers is that arrests like these speak loudly and clearly to sex assault police and DAs that should be prosecuting sex assault arrests in Connecticut with parity and equality.
While there are no published statistics out there, it is no secret that men are more frequently arrested in Connecticut for rape and sex assault than women. I’m sure the physical size and strength of men account for the disparity in arrests, but the problem I’m writing about is the disparate perception, enforcement and punishment of Connecticut sex crimes in the court system. Whether it is improper touching, vaginal or oral intercourse, or Connecticut Enticing a Minor arrests, the underlying acts of Connecticut sex crimes remain primarily the same. For many of the Connecticut criminal lawyers who frequently fight Connecticut sex crime arrests, the punishments always seem to be a little bit more lenient when a woman is convicted of a Connecticut sex crime, especially in Stamford, Greenwich, and Darien statutory rape arrests involving Connecticut teacher-student sex scandals. Whether a male or female teacher involved, a teacher-student sexual relationship is classified as a Felony Sexual Assault in the Second Degree. Yet it seems to the best Connecticut statutory rape criminal lawyers and attorneys that women sometimes seem to get a more lenient punishment. Fighting a Connecticut statutory rape arrest in Stamford, Greenwich, Westport, Stratford, Wilton, or anywhere else in Connecticut must not only take these biases into consideration when dealing with a judge or jury, but must also be brought to the forefront of the legal arguments during pre-trial negotiations. What’s at stake is critical in Connecticut sex crimes arrests—lifetime public sex offender registration, decades of onerous sex offender probation that limits your ability to work, travel or be around children, and mandatory jail time. So if you are arrested in Connecticut for a sexual assault or a sex crime, get in touch with a top Connecticut statutory rape criminal lawyer attorney who has experience in disarming gender-based biases and prejudices and who can convince a judge, jury or prosecutor to put their emotions aside and assess the strength of your defenses fairly and thoroughly.
One other big picture lesson to take from the DC Twerking case is just how much video surveillance and social media has revolutionized the criminal justice system. Web cam surveillance systems (that can even be monitored and guided from your iPhone or smartphone) are dirt cheap these days, and digital servers can now store months of surveillance data without having to overwrite it. It used to be the case when digital surveillance media would be overwritten in 5 to 10 days. So with a few clicks or taps on your iPhone, you can now excerpt video from your surveillance system and post it on Facebook or other social media (as the DC police did here). As a result, and with the help of a catchy tweet or Facebook posting, I wouldn’t be surprised if the DC Gas Station Twerkers were already caught and arrested by the time you are reading this blog entry.
The bigger issue here—and the one that is perhaps most compelling for the best criminal lawyers in Stamford, New Canaan, Westport and Wilton Connecticut to consider—is how to properly secure and preserve digital video surveillance recordings in Connecticut sex assault arrests and other serious crimes. By the time you hire a top Connecticut criminal lawyer, show up for court, and gather all the police reports and witness statements, precious time has lapsed to a point where some of this evidence could disappear. That’s why you need to hire a top Connecticut criminal law firm with the experience and know-how of acting swiftly and immediately in making motions to the criminal court to preserve all exculpatory evidence that will be helpful to your defense.
The Mark Sherman Law team of criminal lawyers are well-versed in defense and discovery strategies that are needed to aggressively defend Connecticut sexual assault and rape arrests in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien, or any other Connecticut town or jurisdiction. Call us today at (203) 358-4700 to learn how we can help you or your family member with your Connecticut sex crime arrest.
