Attorney general hails rape evidence ruling

The Utah Supreme Court ruled earlier this week that a rape suspect can't introduce evidence of prior false rape allegations by his victim during trial unless he can prove the allegations were, indeed, false.

The Utah Attorney General's Office hailed the ruling, which upheld a lower court decision, as a "major legal victory" that protects the rights of rape victims.

"This ruling sends a clear message that rape victims will not be put on trial," Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said.

The ruling came after Jonathan Tarrats asked the court to intervene after the trial judge prohibited testimony about previous rape claims made by his accuser.

Tarrats is currently battling a first-degree rape charge in Weber County for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman during a date. The woman told police Tarrats refused to listen to her pleas to stop, and assaulted her.

Police planted a recording wire on the woman, who got Tarrats to admit that he knew she had not consented to the sex, according to court testimony.

During court testimony, the woman said she had been raped by an unknown attacker at a New Year's party, but never contacted police about the assault. Tarrats then found a friend who said the accuser made up the rape allegation to avoid upsetting her boyfriend.

The Utah Supreme Court affirmed the trial judge's ruling that Tarrats could not introduce evidence about the previous rape claim unless he could prove the allegations were false, as the evidence was prejudicial.

"It would be inviting the jury to draw the inference that if the accuser made a false allegation in the past, her allegation in this case would otherwise be false," Associate Chief Justice Michael J. Wilkins wrote in the court's opinion. "Such an inference is clearly improper under our rules of evidence.

Assistant Attorney General Marian Decker said the ruling is a "fair balance between the rights of rape victims and defendants.

"A rape victim in Utah can now safely come forward and seek justice without the fear of being harassed by unfounded allegations that she is a liar."

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