Legal Question in Criminal Law in Massachusetts

Sexual Abuse 3rd degree

["a person is guilty of s.a. 3rd when he subjectsanother person to sexual contact w/o the latter'sconsent...] is a class B misdemeanor in NYState &altho' the statute of limitations hasn't run, by virtue of the offense being the lowest chargeablesex offense I would suggest to you that no prosecuting authority is going to welcome you, a year later, w/ open arms.Put otherwise, I doubt that the criminal law is where you will achieve any satisfaction ... only grief. Maybe you can sue the fellow, civilly - this approach is likely more feasible than trying to initiate a criminal prosecution at this late date, & mbbe more interesting, too.

Unwanted touching.....sexual abuse...

Remember that a deliberate injury in New York State has only a ONE YEAR statute of limitations and you better get in to your local lawyers ASAP. I agree with John Hayes that the criminal justice folk simply won't give you relief at this point, and will allow the perpetrator to get off with disorderly conduct or an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal....a civil suit would be much more harmful to him.

Unwanted Touching is a Battery

As discussed, you have both civil and criminal remedies if the act took place in Massachusetts. In reality, the police and district attorney are not very interested in these kind of situations. You could swear out a complaint, and have the matter heard at a "show cause" hearing, which might result in a criminal complaint issuing, but the fellow would likely not be convicted, and the DA could well drop the charges. If found guilty, the fellow would have a criminal record, could do jail time, but I doubt it (unless he has a record of doing it before). If he is on probation, the bringing of a complaint could cause him to hve violated his probation, and could result in him having to serve the remainder of a sentence that he is "out on parole" for.

Your civil remedies basically give you money for damages you sustained. For an action like this, you have to prove that he did the deed, and then show what your damages are. You could end up winning the case, but being awarded a nominal sum of money that would not even begin to pay your attorney's fees. If your wife has had to undergo phsycological counseling as a result of the incident, or if a photograph of the incident was published on the front page of your local newspaper, then you may have suffered humiliation in your community to an extent that would warrant a significant recovery.

You may wish to take a pragmatic approach, and let your host know that if Mr. X is going to be at the party, you won't attend. Don't go into detail about why, you might be sued for defamation by Mr. X, depending on who you tell and how you tell them. If enough people do this, Mr. X won't be invited to social events.

This is not legal advice. In situations like this, an attorney needs to interview and determine many facts before rendering any legal advice. These comments are made so that you can structure your thoughts when you visit an attorney for legal advice.