Dallas Police Won’t Charge Dak Prescott with Sexual Assault but the Case Isn’t Over

Recently Dallas Police released a statement indicating that they would not pursue a sexual assault charge against Dallas Cowboy Quarterback, Dak Prescott.  Police indicated that there was insufficient evidence (aka probable cause) to pursue the case.  While the criminal case appears to be over, the alleged victim still plans to pursue a civil case against him.

Civil lawsuits, however, are very different from criminal prosecution. As many of my readers already know, the burden of proof in a civil lawsuit is a “by a preponderance of the evidence” while the burden of proof in a criminal case is guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The burden of proof in civil cases is much lower which is the reason why many civil cases settle. While the burden of proof is different, the rules of evidence still apply to civil lawsuits. Evidence obtained or discovered during a civil lawsuit is admissible in a criminal prosecution.  Further, while there is a relatively short statute of limitation in civil matters (2-3 years depending on the jurisdiction), it’s much longer on the criminal side and in some cases indefinite.

While the criminal case against Mr. Prescott appears to be going nowhere, you can bet that his attorneys will quickly invoke his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, if anything in his potential testimony at a deposition could give legs to a criminal cases. While obviously Prescott wants to limit his civil exposure, he doesn’t want have to deal with criminal charges. In civil lawsuits, a person can’t usually refuse to answer a question with the only exception being, attorney client privilege or self-incrimination.

While a lack of a response can prevent a possible criminal prosecution, there is nothing stopping a plaintiff’s lawyer from using it to settle a civil lawsuit. This is where Prescott finds himself despite the alleged victim weak allegations. While he and his attorney have stated that these accusations are frivolous, they will settle this case to prevent it from giving a dead prosecution life or a civil trial.

Right now, Mr. Rose’s team of attorneys are playing the proper strategy.  Making a statement about a potential criminal incident is never a good strategy and it will usually only hurt your case. Answering questions or making statements open you up to loaded questions from prosecutors and police. For more watch my video on talking to police.  If you have more questions about sex crime or criminal charges in general I encourage you read my book or watch one of my 30 videos.

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