Q: How/why would a prosecuting attorney for criminal court move forward with charges on a he said/she said case?
There is no evidence, no witnesses. Just the statement from the alleged victim and police cam of each, and police report (that's not accurate in several areas when watching the video and reading the report side by side). The discovery trial happened, that's ALL they had. Now, there is another similar charge on the accused that happened over 15 years ago... I don't understand how this will prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We have built up our case disputing other lies the alleged victim told with photo evidence but have nothing for what she said about the crime specifically. What can we expect? Will character witnesses help?
A:
Work with your attorney. The fact of the matter is that a person's testimony IS evidence. Certainly, the prosecution would love corroborating physical and direct evidence (e.g. video), but that's not usually the case. And they can proceed to trial without anything else if they believe the victim's testimony is sufficient. Will a jury buy it is a different question.
Criminal sexual conduct cases are a prime example: particularly in "delayed reporting" cases, what the victim says happened is often the only evidence. And people are convicted of those sort of crimes all the time.
In your particular case, it sounds like you have some evidence that could discredit the victim. Your attorney can certainly do so at trial. Character evidence is not so much a thing; there are rules as to what can and cannot be presented. Suffice it to say you can't present a cadre of witnesses who simply say "he's a great guy who would never do such a thing".
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