You certainly never wanted to be accused of any sort of sex crime. You also understood that there can be complications if you’re with someone that you haven’t been with before, so you made sure to ask for their consent first. You know how important it is to check and see if everyone is in the same place regarding what they want and how the encounter should go.
However, after getting consent, you were still accused of crimes by the person you were with. They say that they took back their consent and that you refused to stop. Is this even something that can happen? If you already got consent, can someone take it away?
Consent can be withdrawn
It is true that someone can withdraw consent. You may argue that you had it initially, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t change their mind. If they are accurately reporting the story, and you should have known that consent had been withdrawn, then you could face criminal charges. In other words, simply getting someone to agree one time doesn’t mean that that permission lasts forever, and it’s important for people to remember this.
That being said, you may honestly have had no idea that they had withdrawn their consent. Maybe you think that they’re making it up because they simply regret the encounter. Maybe drugs and alcohol were involved, so you’re questioning how much either of you remembers about the event in the first place.
No matter how you found yourself in this situation, you can see how big of an impact it may have on your future. That is why it’s so important to understand all of your legal defense options.