Can I plead the 5th Admendment?

Question

The State vs. John Doe
Capital Sexual Battery

I am the witness for The State
I have been supena to Testify aginst John Doe
In a Capital Sexual Batery case
I am the one who called the police one behalf of a Minor under 12!

I want to know if I can plead the 5th Admendment?
Due to no eviadance on sexual abuse based on MEDICAL REPORT! the child statement don't match THE MEDICAL REPORT! and shows signs of false report!

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

NEW DETAILS.....

I DON'T KNOW THE TRUTH WHEN I MADE THE REPORT, I FOUND OUT THE TRUTH LATER AFTER HE WAS ARRESTED, THE DETECTIVE ON THIS CASE HAS BEEN TURNING PEOPLE WORDS AROUND. SO I NEED ADVISE OF WHAT CAN I DO, THEY WANT ME TO GO AGINST AND BE THE WITNESS...BUT I DON'T HAVE NO PROOF TO BELEAVE HE IS GUILTY NOR THE CHILDS FATHER! THE CHILD IS MY DAUGHTER...I CALLED THE POLICE ONLY BECAUSE IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AT THE TIME! THEY TOOK MY CHILDREN AWAY FOR NO REASON, JOHN DOE WAS ARRESTED THE NEXT DAY, AFTER HE WAS ARRESTED THEY STILL WOULDN'T RETURN MY CHILDREN

Answer 1

Only if the questions would incriminate you. "nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself".

Remember, not all sexual abuse will be found be a medical examination. I will not go in to graphic examples, however even touching can be sexual assault. No medical examination would find evidence of the assault.

Your duty is to tell the truth about what you saw or heard. It is not to determine the guilt or innocence of the charged party.

Answer 2

Well you are taking a giant leap with your judgment!

Child sexual abuse is not done in the same manner as a woman who is raped! Many have physical evidence that has healed, and if you don't know either you should not even testify because in my opinion, and I have 16 years of investigating child abuse, your rush to link the two is a disservice to a child and makes be think that you are not qualified!

Did you know that most victims of child sexual abuse have no physical evidence. Did you also know that the convictions for children with no physical evidence is higher than those with!

I would not take the 5th, I would tell them you do not feel qualified to make those judgments!

And this is not a slam, it is my assessment of what you said. I don't know the whole story, but if you race to a conclusion when there is ample data from David Finkelhor, to Suzanne Sgroi,Md, or A Nicholas Growth, all experts in child sexual abuse, that probably would not agree with your assessment. I have read all the studies and I have seen thousands of victims! Children do not lie to get into trouble! They lie to get out of it!

Try getting in touch with David, who is at UNH or Steven Kairy's, MD, who is a pediatrician, was head of the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth, and was a professor of Pediatrics at Dartmouth. He is in Baltimore now I believe and you can get in touch with him at the AMA. He was, or is, the chairman of the Child Abuse Committee for the AMA!

Do you realize how diificult it is for a child victim to testify in an adult court when they know that most are not going to believe.

Please do some homework before you try and link the two, as I can almost guarantee you that there is a valid answer to your assessment that does not agree with you!

I don't think you can take the 5th as it has nothing to do with you violating a law!

And I do not believe a court would allow in your opinion of whether there was an assault or not. There are a thousand of reasons for a kid not to have any physical evidence!

I would not expect the medical report to match the childs statements. Physical evidence tends not to remain around long!

You seem to me to be a resource for the perpetrator! What role do you play? I have a hard time believing you are the child's physician, the person who did the Rape Kit, or her therapist. If you were this question would not be necessary!

Answer 3

You only plead the 5th amendment when you feel you are going to incriminate yourself.

If you truly felt that the child was in danger, and reported it to the proper authorities, then just tell the truth. If you have all ready told your side of the story to the grand jury and this case is going to court, then stick to your grand jury testimony, unless you lied to the grand jury and gave false testimony. If you did this then I suggest you speak to the prosecuting attorney and inform him of what you did so he can take the appropriate steps with regard to this case.

If you did tell the truth, then you have nothing to fear.

Answer 4

The Fifth Amendment is what criminals plead so they don't incriminate themselves. It's a right against self-incrimination.
If the charges are false, tell them what you know -- you know, be a witness. Tell them what you witnessed. If you plead the Fifth, that means you don't testify, and it seems to me that if the charges are false and John Doe didn't do it, you should testify to help him out.

Answer 5

Only if you're being asked something self-incriminating. You can't refuse to testify just because you don't agree with the trial and the charges. If you do refuse to testify, you'll probably be held in contempt of court, as well as fined or sent to jail.

Answer 6

WHEN YOU PLEAD THE FIFTH IT MEANS THAT YOUR TESTIMONY MAY INCRIMINATE YOU , AND YOU HAVE THE RIGHT NOT TO INCRIMINATE YOURSELF.
LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT YOU DON'T WANT TO TESTIFY BECAUSE YOU DON'T THINK ANYTHING HAPPENED. IF THIS IS THE CASE YOU ARE CONDEMNING A PERSON TO PRISON YOUR TESTIMONY MAY FREE AN INNOCENT PERSON.

Answer 7

Umm... why would you not want to testify? Since you're a witness, not the defendant, you're not subject to fifth amendment protections.

Answer 8

no you are not charged -- but if you refuse to testify than you could be charged..