new- wow!!!Amazed

[xxlettyxx]

hi everyone, I stumbled across this site and how I wish I'd found it before .I'm speechless to be honest. I cant believe there are so many people who are going through the same devastation of false accusations as we have.
We have spent the last 18 month trying to gather some sort of defence ,the only witnesses being myself and my 15yr old daughter, only to be advised on the morning of the trial that he didnt have a chance an persuaded him to plead guilty . They said it was the only way he had a chance of seeing us again . To be honest the solicitor and barrister have been totally incompetent and I felt as if he wasnt believed .
Im devastated that hes saying hes guilty to something that we know is a pack of evil lies- concocted through jealousy and money.
God- how I wish Id found you all earlier it could have made so much difference , but, unfortunately he is sentenced to morrow.
Theres so much I feel I want to explain. 18 months of feelings all

bottled up with no one to talk to let alone people who are actually going through the same thing.
My partner is 70 yrs old and 18mnth ago was charged with rape, attemped rapes and sexual assaults by 2 of his granddaughters(who are teenagers) that he had been doing over a period of years but stopped 3yr ago when he begaN a relationship with me. Apparently, there was concern that the case wouldnt stand so just for good measure up pops one of his daughters with more historic rape charges-which really was the spanner in the works.
He has a lot of medical issues an they even accepted that he would have had erection problems but they said they were limited to what they could question the girls about.Our whole defence depended on that- so everything fell apart an all that is left is the bloody plea bargaining - con.,and the disgusting thought of having to make up a story to make it look as if it really happened.
so come tomorrow instead of lookin at guilty or innocent we are looking at how long. Sitting here like the last supper not knowing how you get through something like this. Would be so grateful for some "friends " or advice . I feel like a leper as guilty as him for sticking by him. So grateful that I found yous -at last i have been able to speak openly about it. thank you and good luck to all who are going through anything like this

[doubletake]

Hello Letty

Hello, first of i wud personaly say never say innocent if ure not the solicitor and barrista did wrong in my humble oppinion to tell him to do this! But on a brighter note i'm glad u found this sight i'm new also best wished DT

[Verity]

Hello xxlettyxx

It sounds like your partner has been bullied into the position he is.

It is unfortunately you didn't find us sooner.
RF is the good one in dealing with this type of situation and hopefully she will be along soon,
she is up to her eyeballs in going through case files of innocent wrongfully convicted folks and has come across quite a few men who have pled guilty to something they most certainly have not committed.

remember we are not lawyers but have had first hand experience at the hands of a shameful judicial system who seem interested in convictions, not where the truth lies or justice.
There are more within the judiciary who are now saying this cannot continue but that doesn't help the innocent victim falsely accused.

In your partners shoes I would stand up and tell the judge that I was innocent and have been bullied by my defence counsel to plead guilty to something I haven't done. My defence is incompetant and have denied me my rights.
He is elderly and in poor health and would be unjust to incarcerate him.

That's what I would say.

Try and stay strong and what ever the outcome stay with us and we will do all we can to help.
If he is given a custodial sentence put in an imediate appeal.

Be strong

[Saffron]

Hi Letty and welcome.
Unfortunately it is extremely difficult to appeal if you have pleaded guilty. I would say the best chance your partner has is to do what Verity suggested and say at sentencing that he did not want to plead guilty, his defence is incompetent and have bullied him. I don't know what would happen from there, but it's worth a try.
Let us know how you get on. Good luck.
Saffron

[xxlettyxx]

Thanks for the replies

Unfortunately we had already been to court when I read the replies.He was sentenced to 16yrs of which they said he'll serve 8yrs and now probation has told him he will be up for parole in 4yrs???
I gather he was treated harshly because he didnt act the guilty part too well as they had instructed him( the judge knew and was involved in him changing the plea 6weeks ago) but as he says its hard to invent stories of what hed done when hes innocent and the probation report obviously reflected that and even his barrister told the court that he was in denial !!
My thoughts are all over the place atm. We are totally devastated.I really dont know how I'm going to get through it- let alone him.
I visited him on Saturday and on the plus side he was in good spirits but I know it wont stay that way.He was more concerned about how I was coping and my daughters. I feel so helpless and I'm so worried about him as he always said he wont last 2minutes in a prison. 70yrs old , in poor health - he cant even manage the stairs to stand in a queue to phone me, He was dependant on me for most things and I know he will just waste away.
Thanks for your support-you will never know how much it means just to have someone to understand.
Somehow I have to leave the house to go to the housing office as I'm now going to have nowhere to live as the house was in his name and they have made things very difficult for me to stay.
Bigs hugs and love to you xx

[Casehardened]

Dear Letty,

I do feel for you and your partner but just don't know what to say. It seems like he was conned; pleading guilty should knock up to a third off the sentence (depending at what stage of the process the plea comes) 16 years sounds like no credit was given; it's more than someone would get for manslaughter.

I understand that it's not possible to appeal against conviction if he has pleaded guilty but I wonder if it is possible to appeal against the unjust sentence?

In the meantime you are among friends here, most folks can relate to what you and partner are going through; especial thanks to you, in the midst of your own crisis, for taking time to give advice to others

[Saffron]

Hi Letty

It is extremely difficult to appeal once a Guilty plea has been given, but it's not impossible. A member of ours, Maria, her son pled Guilty for the exact same reasons as your partner, and he managed to secure an appeal.

As CH says, the sentence seems unduly harsh and there may be grounds for appeal against that.

I'm so sorry you are in this situation. Please keep coming back and we will do all we can to support you.

[xxlettyxx]

HI Saffron,
Thanks for the message.We had come to terms that a guilty plea would mean prison but it was still a shock. Like was said its more than manslaughter!More than double what we were advised.
I mentioned it to him briefly when I saw him. Some one had spoken to him (not sure if he was something to do with probation)and told him if an appeal was lost he would automatically serve the full 16 yrs, end of story. So is it worth the risk? Is it done this way so that you dont push for an appeal? I dont even know if that applies if you only appeal about the length of sentence.
I feel as if I'm spending all my time on here. lol. Its somewhere to feel safe and after 18mnths I have been able to speak to people about it without feeling like a leper.
Thanks so much for taking time to reply.
love and hugs Letty

[Rights Fighter]

HI Saffron,
Some one had spoken to him (not sure if he was something to do with probation)and told him if an appeal was lost he would automatically serve the full 16 yrs, end of story.
love and hugs Letty

Probation officers tell lies. He would have to serve half before his first parole application and if that failed he could then continue to apply for parole until he had served 2/3rds of the sentence at which point he would be released on license.

Those are who elderly and accused of crimes going back decades and then not offended after then are usually considered to be of very little risk and parole usually succeeds first time.