Can a Greensboro criminal defense attorney explain if sexual assault victims must be named? Yes, of course! In most instances, the victim of any sexual assault or other sex offense must be named in the indictment. This is true even where the victim is younger than thirteen years old. While there are obvious policy concerns for protecting the privacy of a victim of sexual assault, our laws expressly state that an indictment must name the victim of the rape or sexual assault and that even if a child is involved, the child must be named. There are a few things that can happen to protect the identity of victims of sex offenses, though. For more information on these crimes and the rules for protecting identities, you should speak with a Greensboro criminal defense attorney today!
The policy concern for protecting the identity of a sexual assault victim is clear. Some victims may be scared to come forward and say what’s happened to them, so keeping their identity private promotes overall reporting of sexual assaults. It’s a way of increasing privacy for the public while also increasing the safety of the victims. While an indictment cannot leave out the victim’s full identity, there are ways to protect privacy of victims of sexual offenses. One option is to only use the victim’s initials. While this has been done in some cases, the Supreme Court has not expressly said that they approve of this, so it should be used with caution. Another way to help protect privacy is to have the indictment sealed. Most court records are accessible to the public, but sometimes the court will allow the indictment to be sealed in appropriate cases so that the public cannot access it. For more information about sealing documents or other privacy options, you should contact a Greensboro criminal defense attorney.
A Greensboro criminal defense attorney will make sure that your case is handled properly! The criminal defense attorneys at Garrett, Walker, Aycoth, and Olson know the requirements of law and also genuinely care about each and every case presented to them by their clients. Call today at 336-379-0539; we are here to help!