Would this villain have to use drugs for this crime? (sexual violence warning)

[InTheThirdPerson]

Well, here's the thing... when it comes to the legal side of it, sex crimes are already under-investigated. In fact, that they are often not taken as seriously as they should be often just adds to the trauma of the incident. So any physical assault is going to be far more realistic if you want an in-depth investigation and a frustrating lack of evidence.

Furthermore, there is a very real phenomena that some people who are sexually assaulted feel incredible shame and embarrassment. This is extremely common with abused men, so much so that they will not only just avoid reporting it, but do anything they can to avoid anyone finding out about it.

If you want to make your story feel more authentic, make the abuse some type of physical assault that would logically warrant a full investigation. This satisfies your desire to get the police involved. Also include a sexual assault, but make that more personal. Maybe she even recorded it and taunted him with it. Now this gives your male character a very strong motivation to find her before the police -- he's ashamed of whatever sexual thing was done to him and needs to find her FIRST.

EDIT: I should clarify that the above actually solves the problem in your initial question. It doesn't matter whether or not the woman drugs him. She just needs to gain control of him somehow and then commit the assault. Maybe she gets him drunk then ties him up. Or coerces him at gunpoint. It can be whatever.

Furthermore, you can then also get your male character to do some of the work for you: Maybe he's so ashamed of whatever was done to him sexually that even HE tries to hide the evidence of it - he doesn't cover up the physical assault, but he tries to do everything he can to avoid the investigation steering toward something sexual.

[ironpony]

Oh okay, but I thought that drugs would make it more difficult to cover up, cause now the main character has a rape drug in his system and that gives the police more evidence, and more probable cause to investigate further then, doesn't it? So would drugs make it harder for her to get away with then?

Also, if she physically assault him more, wouldn't that also make it more difficult for her to get away with, or if she records it, and then has evidence of it?

[indianroads]

Oh okay, but I thought that drugs would make it more difficult to cover up, cause now the main character has a rape drug in his system and that gives the police more evidence, and more probable cause to investigate further then, doesn't it? So would drugs make it harder for her to get away with then?

Also, if she physically assault him more, wouldn't that also make it more difficult for her to get away with, or if she records it, and then has evidence of it?

What's not looked for is rarely found. If the police don't believe there's been a crime, they won't investigate or do blood tests.

[ironpony]

Oh okay thanks. But since the main character is a cop, would they do blood tests on him and do him that special favor if he is a cop? Or do they tell their fellow officers, sorry we can't do a blood test? However, even if the main character has his own test done, aren't the police required to look at it?

But why wouldn't the police believe their may have been a crime? If someone reports a sexual assault and being kidnapped and drugged, then aren't the police required to investigate, even if they don't believe one of their own officers?

I guess I just need more information as to on what legal grounds the police are able to not look at a report of a crime and ignore it?

It just also seems to me that cops are willing to investigate further if the crime happens to a cop. For example, where I live, a cop had his car stolen and the police did a much better job of finding the thief, then they would if it was a civilian in comparison.

[InTheThirdPerson]

The problem here is that just the presence of a drug in his system isn't going to be sufficient evidence of a crime. It would be corroborating evidence if there were also other details to investigate.

If a woman is raped, there can be direct physical evidence of the crime. The perpetrator can ejaculate and leave evidence. Even if he doesn't, if the assault is severe enough, he might leave physical damage that corroborates the claim of assault.

If this woman is not having sex with the man that is rough enough to leave behind some kind of physical evidence on his body, and she's careful enough to remove any sort of bodily fluids or other personally identifiable evidence (e.g. tied her hair up so as not to leave behind a stray strand), then what are the police supposed to investigate?

With zero physical evidence other than just his word and the presence of a drug, at best it would just be left as an open investigation under the hope that the person commits the crime again and this time leaves actual evidence to investigate.

You have to remember, police are not going to put a lot of effort into investigating a crime with little-to-no evidence when there are many other crimes out there to look into -- even a crime against one of their own. If there's nothing to find, there's nothing to investigate.

[ironpony]

Oh okay thanks, I can write it like that then. Before she drugs him and assaults him, earlier in the story, the main character fights off other guys from attacking her, earlier that day, before she assaults him. So if he has bruises on him, could the cops just say, he could have gotten those from the fight he was in earlier, and that's not enough evidence therefore then?

[InTheThirdPerson]

I think another problem here is that you're trying to create the "perfect crime" -- in that you want the woman to get away with it (presumably until she doesn't, that is, winds up being caught by the man), but you *ALSO* want this to be investigated by the man's cop buddies.

I don't think you can have it both ways.

Either there needs to be sufficient evidence (of which I don't think just a drug will be enough) to warrant an active ongoing investigation, *OR* no one believes the man and he is left to try to find evidence and find this woman on his own.

Consider this:

Let's say I get beat up while walking home. I report it to the police. There is a lot of physical evidence that I was assaulted, more than enough to warrant an investigation.

But... I didn't see the person who assaulted me. Maybe they attacked me from behind and I never got a good look.

The police will collect any physical evidence they can. Maybe the person left something on me (a hair or something). Maybe there is an identifying pattern to the wounds I sustained that would suggest a weapon used or maybe even rings worn by the attacker that left impressions on my skin. Maybe there are footprints at the scene.

If the assault happened in a neighborhood, they will ask the residents to see if anyone saw something. Maybe they will look for a doorbell camera or other video surveillance.

Even after looking into all of those possibilities, it's still entirely possible that there is no evidence to investigate other than the fact that I am injured in a manner that suggests a beating.

At that point, there is very little the police can do. Essentially, the perpetrator has "gotten away with it" -- unless new evidence emerges or something else comes up (like another similar assault) to reopen an active investigation.

My point is, this woman in your story doesn't have to be subtle regarding the nature of the assault on your male character. In fact, the less subtle the assault is, the more realistic it is that the police will investigate thoroughly.

Her "getting away with it" really only depends on her not leaving evidence that ties *HER* to the crime, not whether or not there is evidence of a crime.

You don't need to over-complicate it by having him get in a fight with anyone else or anything like that. In fact, the more complicated you try to make it, the less realistic it's going to be.

The only criteria you need to satisfy is there being no evidence that points to *HER*.

[ironpony]

Oh okay. The police do not have to investigate the case, I just thought they would. But they don't have. Did I infer that they had to before? I want the guy to get revenge on her after she gets away with it. So he does this later by manufacturing a new case. So that's when the police buddies get involved. But they do not have to investigate this case. In fact if they don't that's better for the story, cause it makes things less complicated. I just didn't think they wouldn't.

So I can still have her drug him then to make it easier for her, but at the same time, the police will not investigate even if their is drug evidence then?

[InTheThirdPerson]

Well, a couple of things here: The police are only going to investigate a crime of this nature if it's reported to them. So this would all depend on your male character's willingness to report it. If a police investigation isn't necessary for this aspect of your story, then your simplest solution is to have it not be reported. This would also be the most realistic, because statistically, men are far less likely to report sexual assault. There would have to be some really compelling reason for him to come forward.

Also, if your male character is a cop or pretty close with cops, he would very well know the investigation procedures. Therefore he would know that the less evidence that exists, the less this crime can/will be investigated, and that it would be even less likely to obtain a conviction.

He would also know that really the only important evidence in this instance would be evidence -- eyewitness or physical -- that can directly identify the perpetrator. This likely makes HIM the single best source of evidence. Did he see her do this to him? Or was he blindfolded / unconscious? If he knows who she is, is there some reason he wouldn't involve her in the investigation?

This brings us to him being drugged, this may or may not even be valid evidence. Rohypnol, for example, metabolizes very quickly in the body. So a blood test might not even detect it. But even with that and other drugs, the testing is VERY unreliable. There have been real life cases where victims have been tested at two different hospitals and received negative and positive results from them respectively, making the "evidence" highly suspect and possibly invalid for any sort of prosecution.

This is a fact you could incorporate into your story as a way for her to "get away with it." Your male character would know that with unreliable physical evidence, any criminal charges would come down to he said/she said regarding whether or not the encounter was consensual. This would factor into whether or not it would even be realistic for him to report the crime in the first place. Maybe he goes to a hospital and has his blood tested, it shows negative. He goes to another and it shows positive. Now he knows for sure he's been drugged, but also knows there's conflicting evidence. What does he do? Does he report it at this point? Or does he now go on his mission of revenge?

[ironpony]

Oh okay thanks. The woman is a witness in another case the main character is investigating which is how he gets to meet her. But she doesn't want to testify in that case. The way I wrote it is, is that after she sexually assaults him, she goes to the police after and tells them that the main character tried to blackmail her, saying that if she doesn't testify and tells the court what he wants to hear, that he would try to make it look like she sexually assaulted him.

So goes to the police and tells them this after, getting ahead of him, in case he decides to tell the police. So if she does this, would she say she is lying then, and tell the court instead, she sexually assaulted him?

Also I remember reading that that drug stays in the system for two to three days if I recall correct, so I thought that would be enough time, if he reported it right away. But would he if she goes to the court first and tells that story?