State v. Ms. W (DMC No. 17849) – Felony Sexual Assault (“Me Too” Allegation) – Not Charged – Phoenix Police Department Investigated (DR No. 20XX-XXXXXXX7)
Ms. W and her female friend had been playing a drinking game one night when the alleged victim went and took a shower, came out and laid on the bed next to Ms. W. Approximately five minutes after they started cuddling, the alleged victim started to kiss Ms. W and climbed on top of her. They then had consensual sex.
The alleged victim in this case waited for five days, and then went to the hospital and claimed she was Sexually Assaulted and claimed to have “bruising on her legs”. When Police arrived, she claimed she had PTSD from a Sexual Assault when she was 13 years old, had a bad experience with the legal system, and refused to provide a last name or contact information regarding Ms. W. She claimed she didn’t remember what occurred, but that she felt pain when she woke up the next day and tried to urinate. She made no mention of taking a shower and voluntarily crawling into bed with Ms. W.
The Police then took the alleged victim to the Family Advocacy Center (FAC) in order to interview her. They also sent an Officer to her house to collect her bed sheets to use as evidence. The alleged victim still said she was unsure if she wanted to prosecute, and wanted to talk to her mother (who is a psychologist) before she made her decision. She called back to the Detective two weeks later, and said she wanted to move forward with Prosecution.
When they interviewed her again, she now provided Ms. W’s full name and contact information. She also turned over texts between the two of them. And lastly, she agreed to do a “Confrontation Call” with Ms. W that was recorded. During that call, Ms. W stated that they were both drunk, that the victim had kissed her, and climbed on top of her. She also stated everything was consensual. Ms. W ended the call by stating, “no, you came onto me”.
Subsequently, a Search Warrant for DNA was obtained by a Judge, and Officers went to Ms. W in order to collect evidence and to question her. She admitted that she performed oral sex on the alleged victim, but that the alleged victim was “very much awake” and “very into it”. After Ms. W was released from the Police Station, she secured the services of DM Cantor.
We immediately gathered all texts between her and the alleged victim, and we also conducted a Polygraph on Ms. W (which she “passed”). We put all of this evidence together, and spoke with the Detectives. The Detectives agreed that there was Not Enough Evidence to move forward with the filing of charges. Had Ms. W been charged and convicted, she would have faced over 15 years in Prison.
