The state cannot convict a defendant of a crime unless and until the prosecution brings charges within the statute of limitations for that crime and unless and until the defendant pleads guilty or the prosecution proves the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Charges of sex crimes allegedly perpetrated against a minor have the same standard of proof as any other offenses, but they have an unusually long statute of limitations. In many cases, the accuser does not speak to the police about the sexual abuse he or she suffered until after reaching the majority. This rule is in place to give sexual abuse survivors the opportunity to pursue criminal charges and civil lawsuits even if, while they were minors, the adults in their lives prevented them from doing so. Some people bring legal action related to sexual abuse only after undergoing therapy in which they claim to have recovered memories of abuse that they had previously forgotten or suppressed. If you are being accused of a sex offense because the accuser claims to have recovered previously forgotten memories of the abuse, contact a Texas sex crime attorney.
What Are Recovered Memories, and Why Are They Controversial?
Some therapists claim that people can forget traumatic experiences or even intentionally suppress their memory of them. These therapists claim that the survivors of traumatic events can later recall their memories of them during sessions with therapists trained in helping patients recover suppressed memories. This idea gained wide publicity in the 1980s and 1990s when people who claimed to have experienced sexual abuse by family members, caregivers, and clergy wrote books about their experiences of suppressing and recovering their memories and gave interviews about these subjects on television.
The idea that one can suppress and recall memories of distressing experiences is, by itself, controversial. It is possible that therapists simply guide patients through imagining a traumatic event in such detail that the patient comes to believe that it happened, much like when people engage in “past life regressions,” when they imagine themselves living in an earlier era of history and eventually come to believe that they have been reincarnated and can remember experiences from a previous life.
Casting Doubt on an Accusation Arising From Recovered Memory Therapy
If prosecutors want to enter evidence about recovered memories, such as testimony from an accuser or his or her therapist, to this effect, and if the judge allows them to enter this evidence, you still have a chance to cast doubt on it. If, for example, the accuser says that the incident took place in your bedroom when she was 13 years old, and your room had blue walls, you can show photographs of your bedroom from around the time of the alleged abuse, showing that the walls of your bedroom were always white. You can also enter expert witness testimony casting doubt on the therapist’s techniques.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges after an accuser claimed to have recovered suppressed memories of sexual abuse. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, in Dallas, Texas, to discuss your case.