Ann Arbor man, 22, faces allegations of sexual assault

For most people facing allegations of sexual assault, there is a "before" and "after": as in how life was before the allegations, and then after. This is because even in those instances where the allegations are determined to be unfounded or the accused is found not guilty, there are usually unavoidable long-term consequences, most notably the potential for significant damage to the person's reputation. This is why we all hope that arrests that are based on sexual assault charges come only after a thorough law enforcement investigation.

For a 22-year-old man from Ann Arbor, only time will tell whether or not he is indeed guilty of the crime he is charged with, or if he was wrongly accused. This man was arrested based on allegations made by a 25-year-old female, who reportedly stated that the suspect attempted to sexually assault her at an apartment in Ann Arbor. Further details about the alleged incident, however, were scare.

One detail that would catch the attention of any Ann Arbor criminal defense attorney is that the alleged victim did not report the incident until the morning afterward. Moreover, the reports indicate that the alleged victim and the suspect knew each other, although, again, the details of their relationship were not immediately clear.

As the details begin to come out about this alleged incident, the people involved and the nature of their relationship, it will become clearer whether or not the alleged suspect will be able to craft a sound criminal defense. Oftentimes when an alleged victim and suspect know each other the defense strategy will be based on a claim that any sexual contact involved was consensual. The suspect will have gone through most of the preliminary hearings in his case by the end of July.

Source: mLive, "Man held in jail on attempted sexual assault charge," Kyle Feldscher, July 16, 2014