Is This True? Could She Be Lying?!

[Melissa]

hi, my friend got raped a few months ago, she hasnt been in school for a while, she said shes been to court and they let the boys off (she knew exactly who they were coz shes seen them around her area before it happened) Anyway, she said she got pregnant but had a abortion straight away, so when it came to the judge, he said there wasnt enough evidence, could this be true? Could They still do a test or sumthin> im really not sure what to think, but this must mean that no rapist gets jailtime unless the woman gets pregnant and keeps the baby, which doesnt seem to make sense to me post back comments etc , thanx!

[Ashley]

Hello Melissa,

Very difficult question you pose with respect to your friend's claims.

Dealing first with the evidential burden to mount a prosecution, the answer is NO, it is not necessary for there to be any physical or ducumentary evidence of a sexual assault. It is often the case that such crimes are reported long after the alleged event, 10, 20 even 30 years later and prosecutions have succeeded.

You obviously have your own suspicions as to the veracity of the account. It would be very unusual indeed if a case proceeded to trial in a matter of a 'few months', although you do not specify exactly the time scale. If it is less than 6, there is reason for your suspicions to be heightened. Of course, the matter may have been disposed of prior to a trial by the police or prosecuting authorities deciding that there was no merit in the case.

You may also ask yourself has your friend displayed other attention seeking traits. You would know the answer better than anyone. You might also look at the other symptomatic criteria of psychological disorders, the sufferers of which may make false claims. They may not be as malignant as claiming sexual assault, but it is not uncommon. Have a look at Histrionic or Borderline Personality Disorder. Put the title in a search engine. None of this means she may not have been assaulted, may satisfy your own doubts though.

In the event, lets just hope that she hasn't.

[beckysummer]

I think if she were telling the truth then when the judge says there 'wasn`t enough evidence' he was referring to whether she had consented to having sex with the boys not whether she was pregnant or not. In fact keeping the baby would be used against her in court, -why would you want your rapists baby?would be the atitudes of the defence counsel.

[Emma]

I realise that this was a topic posted a while ago but I was looking through the previous messages. I was raped in July and my trial is going on at the moment so that is what 8 weeks it was fast tracked. I am one of the fortunate ones (I think) So it is possible that your friend did indeed go to court, all areas of the country are different but where I live each case is looked at individually and I guess the more serious cases or ones where the victim needs to get on with her life may take precedence. I would have hated to wait around for months, even though it is terribly terribly hard to go to court I am glad that I did not have to wait any longer.