These cases are investigated thouroughly, tried aggressively and defended robustly. In court, it’s usually a knock down drag out fight to the finish. Relationships are torn asunder, families split, careers can be made or broken and sentences for the convicted are long. Prisoners are not kind to sexual offenders.
Every case has its merits or demerits.
Let’s just pose a scenario: Three female siblings attend the same school....one confides in her teacher-her father as been molesting her for years. And her younger siblings are being molested too. The other siblings are resistant to divulging their personal hell but reluctantly they do. Mom is adamant. This is not happening. She says the older girl is rebelling against their discipline at home and accuses the teacher of encouraging a false accusation. Or perhaps mom realizes if the father is convicted, the family has no income and no way to support itself.
The older girl sticks to her story and a foster home is found for her. The younger ones recant and remain in the home. A pricey defense attorney has to be hired. Imagine the turmoil this is going to cause in the family for life.
Now imagine someone like CathyA and someone like Razz are on the same jury. There is likely going to be long deliberations in the jury room. As a juror you want to have concrete evidence that would prove beyond all doubt that the father was guilty. But the standard is a “reasonable doubt”. Now you get to decide if the prosecution has met its burden and know that your decision is going to impact someone greatly no matter what it is. No fun. No fun at all.