Allegations of sex crimes in Boston can be devastating to the family life, career and reputation of the accused.

This is particularly true when the accused is a member of the military.

Boston sex crimes attorneys have been closely watching the allegations unfolding from the U.S. Military Academy in New York and the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland. In both of these cases, the alleged victims have admitted they were intoxicated at the time the alleged crimes occurred.

While any prosecutor will tell you this does not prevent sexual assault charges from being filed or pressed, it can make for a more favorable situation for the defense.

In instances where there are just two witnesses – the alleged victim and the alleged perpetrator – it is already a he-said/she-said situation. If one or both of those individuals was intoxicated at the time of the alleged encounter, their testimony is generally going to be deemed less credible.

What’s more, in both of these situations, the alleged sex crimes weren’t reported for some time after they supposedly occurred. This diminishes the strength of the evidence, whether physical evidence or witness statements.

Case law in situations of alleged sexual assault with the presence of alcohol or other intoxication is laid out in Betrayal of Trust? Allegations of rape at West Point, Annapolis, By Kyra Phillips and Jessi Joseph, CNN