Paul was a college student at Temple University. (Name changed for privacy.) Paul excelled in his studies, his service work, and his social life. Others on campus viewed Paul as a popular, good-looking young man teeming with potential. But two years ago, his life was turned upside down.
After meeting another college student, Paul had a consensual sexual relationship with that newly-met, female college student. But after the relationship, the female college student reported the encounter as rape and sexual assault.
The police assigned a detective. Even though the detective failed to speak with important witnesses, visit the scene, or conduct other important investigation, the detective obtained an arrest warrant for Paul. When the detective called Paul, who was in class at the time, Paul’s initial thought was that it was a SPAM or prank phone call. Unfortunately, this was the start of Paul’s nightmarish reality. Paul and his family have lived in terror knowing the potential jeopardy Paul faced due to these accusations.
Sadly, sexual violence, sexual assault, and sexual misconduct are rampant on university and college campuses. See, for example, Sexual Misconduct survey results released for all Penn State campuses showing 19.6% of undergraduates and 7.7% of graduate/professional students at University Park reported being the victim of at least one instance or attempt of sexual assault. Similar numbers are reported on campuses throughout Pennsylvania. These numbers are startling and terrible.
While such assaults are tragic when they occur, another horrible reality is that sometimes there are false reports of sexual assault. That is, also sadly, false accusations of rape and sexual assault also occur. Statistics vary on the prevalence of false reports of sexual abuse (some studies estimate as low as 2% to 10%) but those numbers are much more difficult to determine. Unfortunately, such a false report was exactly what occurred in Paul’s case.
Paul’s family was paralyzed with the news, and Paul suffered all sorts of collateral consequences from the accusation while he waited almost two years for his trial. Paul’s family needed help.
Paul hired ThePhillyLawyers to defend him against the accusations. ThePhillyLawyers, attorney Emmett Madden and attorney Andrew Alston, thoroughly prepared and investigated pre-trial and then vigorously defended Paul at his jury trial. After cross-examining the prosecution’s witnesses, we presented extensive fact and character witnesses. We showed the jury what the police and prosecution had not. We investigated. While it is not the defense’s burden to prove innocence, by the conclusion of the trial, we had, in fact, proven Paul’s innocence.
The jury returned a verdict. Not guilty of all charges. Paul is now a free man without having living in terror at the thought that his freedom may be snatched away from him. With the jury’s verdict, he and his family could finally start to heal. We were able to achieve justice so Paul and his family can finally start to heal.
The following was written by an observer who watched the trial. She posted the following five-star review on our Google page. We’re proud to share her feedback:
I had the privilege of sitting in on a 3-day criminal case and saw first hand how brilliantly both Emmett and Andrew fought for the rights of my close family friend, ultimately resulting in a deserved “not guilty” verdict. Particularly, I was impressed with Emmett’s relentless cross examination of the plaintiff, resulting in her finally admitting truth she was withholding. Andrew was also extremely skilled in cross-examination and delivered a very passionate and well-planned closing argument that tied together the most crucial nuances in the case for the jury to more easily result in a “not guilty” verdict. These attorneys treated their client as their own family member, and fought for his rights as if he was. His case was taken seriously from beginning to end and I highly recommend these two attorneys.
In an unjust system that, at times, seemingly has the presumption of guilt with certain types of charges, you need a lawyer who is not afraid to fight for justice.
