At law, a mere presence at a crime scene alone is insufficient to establish one is an accomplice. The prosecution must also show that a charged defendant was at the crime scene for the purpose of approving and encouraging the commission of the offense. Also, to be guilty of a crime, you need two critical elements: 1. Actus reus (affirmative steps/action/conduct). 2. Mens rea (mental state/intent to commit a crime).
Hypothetical 1: Messrs. Olaniyonu and Esupofo, two good friends, went to their children's school for an end-of-the-year party. During the event, Mr. Esupofo went to the restroom; on getting there, he saw his friend, Mr. Olaniyonu, raping Anuoluwa, a 16-year old girl, who screamed and yelled for help. Mr. Esupofo looked the other away; he did not call the police. He walked away.
Subsequently, Mr. Olaniyonu was charged with statutory rape. And no charges were filed against Mr. Esupofo.
Yes, Mr. Esupofo might end up in hell, but he did not break the law. He had no legal obligation to rescue the battered 16-year old. As between two or more strangers, the law doesn't impose a duty to rescue someone in peril.
Hypothetical 2: Assuming that when Mr. Esupofo saw what Mr. Olaniyonu was doing, he said to him: "oh, for her to be screaming like that, she must be enjoying it; give it to her. Bad boy!" And he walked away from the restroom, he did not call the police. At law, even though Mr. Olaniyonu did not rape the 16-year old girl, his words of encouragement will be sufficient to charge him as an accomplice to rape.
Hypothetical 3: Assuming that when Mr. Esupofo saw what Mr. Olaniyonu was doing, he asked him to stop, using all his power to stop his friend from further raping the girl to no avail. After Mr. Esupofo was unable to stop his friend from raping the 16-year old girl, he walked away from the restroom. He did not call for help. Sure, you don't have a duty to rescue someone in peril, but, if you have begun to rescue someone in peril, you MUST see through. You can no longer walk away from the scene. You have to call the police. In this case, the prosecutor will charge him with a misdemeanor offense or a more serious offense.
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