False accusation of sexual assault – police report filed

r/

Location: Georgia, USA

I recently learned that someone filed a police report for sexual assault against me, wondering what, if anything, I should do.

Details:

– The incident was from 2010, maybe 2011. It occurred on a college campus in the state of Georgia. The report was filed with the campus police department.

– The incident involved a woman I briefly dated for a period of a month or 2. We did have sex one time, it was consensual. She gave no indication at the time of being in any way upset about the encounter, either immediately after or in the days/weeks following. She had never had sex before and was curious about it, and wanted to try the first time with someone she knew (we went to high school together).

– I learned about the report because she listed a mutual friend as a potential corroborating witness(?) – this friend was someone that I also hooked up with a couple of times. She said the police had called her asking if she knew anything about it or if I had assaulted her too. She said no, didn’t think I would do anything like that, etc… I haven’t spoken to either of these women in 10-15 years so this is totally out of the blue.

I can give more details and backstory if it helps. I don’t think there is anything that could be construed as evidence beyond he-said she-said, but I can produce witnesses (former room mates) that would corroborate the fact that nothing unethical or coercive happened.

I guess I’m wondering if:

A.) I should be concerned about potential criminal proceedings based on the age and lack of evidence, or if this is likely just to get filed away and never followed up on, and,

B.) If there is anything I should be proactively doing to shield myself from potential reputational damage.

I honestly have no idea why she is coming forward with the report, and especially now that 15 years have passed. I’m not famous or anything, just a normal guy with a normal life, family, etc.

Comments

  1. Sheriff_Hopper Avatar

    You could wait and see if anything comes of it. Don’t talk to the police even if they “just have a couple questions” or “want to get your side of the story.” If they do want to speak to you hire a criminal defense lawyer. 

    Also stop speaking to your friend who was listed as a witness

  2. neebooneeboo Avatar

    Statute of limitations. Not much can come of it from what I believe. Most states it’s 7 years. So you’d be fine.