Another Victim of FA not guilty !

[lonley place]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...iest-rape.html
Makes me so angry LP

[wonderwoman2012]

Of course she couldn't have just made it up false allegations are rare, cps have said so

And of course only real criminals are arrested and charged because the police always investigate properly

Bet the cps won't do her for this.

[whatsgoingon?]

I wonder why her picture doesn't feature in this article??? She's not he first to have based her allegations on a novel!

[Saffron]

She hasn't been charged or found guilty of PCOJ. As it stands legally, she is still entitled to anonymity.
Plenty of innocent men and women are FAd but plenty of guilty people are found Not Guilty too.

[Seeking Justice]

It gets my goat when people say things like:

''Plenty of innocent men and women are FAd but plenty of guilty people are found Not Guilty too.''

It is this sort of attitude which has resulted in the current witch hunt.

I dont mean to be disrespectful Saffron, as I myself would have made a similar statement before i was FA'd.

The fact is however, how do you know this for sure? It amounts to someones opinion and has no actual evidence to substantiate such a sweeping statement.

It is the same as these feminist groups who constantly campaign that (whatever) % of 'rapes' go unreported. Really?

If we were being really objective it would of course read 'in my opinion, a lot of guilty people are found not guilty' or 'in my opinion, and based on a survey of x amount of people who claimed they were raped (but have never proven the same) approximately % of rapes go unreported.''

I know rape is an emotional subject, but we really do have to be a bit more careful under the current legal system i.e. proof beyond reasonable doubt.

We might as well scrap the whole legal system and operate on a 'if a woman says so, shes been raped' policy.

Let em hang high!

[Saffron]

It's the truth, not a sweeping statement at all. Innocent people are FAd, tried and convicted. My husband was one of them.
Guilty people are tried and not convicted. I know a genuine survivor whose attacker was tried and not convicted. The system is fundamentally flawed.
The justice system for rape and sexual crimes is riddled with injustices on both sides.
Think about it before you go off on one.
Sorry if that "gets your goat".

[Seeking Justice]

My personal view is the same as yours, and I am sure that guilty people are found not guilty, but my point is that there is no way of knowing this for sure.

You need to be 100% sure before referring to anyone as guilty. Anything else is just your opinion, however right that may be in theory.

There is no doubt the current system is unfair for both. However, the way in which the justice system has been manipulated by pressure groups to give more advantages to a 'victim' is contrary to the rule of law and we will in effect be resorting to medieval times if this carries on.

It seems that the only reason for this political pressure is based upon unsubstantiated claims, and therefore it is the result of the opinion of the population i.e. if she says she was raped she must have been, no need for conclusive evidence.

The problem of course is that there hardly is conclusive proof for rape, so I understand there is difficulties in trying to balance the injustice.

However, my experience of a rape allegation has taught me to question other allegations, as I know my allegation is untrue and therefore I now believe many others are also.

Before my allegation I would have automatically presumed guilt for anyone charged, but following my experience, and the blatant lies of the FA, the tactics of the police and the judges that blatantly serve to satisfy public opinion, I am very pessimistic indeed about any allegation, statistics or anyones opinion based on unsubstantiated allegations.

[friday]

Can we just remember that this is a forum for both people who have been falsely accused and people who have experienced rape. We believe every member's account of their experiences and to say we can't call someone guilty unless they have been found guilty would mean the forum would have to close. Like Saffron said, the justice system fails both sides. I am one of the people it failed. I am one of those statistics. My rapist walked free. A jury couldn't be sure he was guilty but his own barrister said he couldn't believe he got away with it.The fact he was found not guilty doesn't erase his crime.

[Seeking Justice]

Friday, can I just say that it was not my intention to lessen anyones experience. It is not my place to say that if someone is found not guilty then they are innocent. Indeed this is the fundamental aspect of my argument - I wasn't there so I don't know for sure if they are innocent.

My argument is for rape victims and those falsely accused. It is nobodys place to decide whether a person is innocent or guilty except the complainant (as they were there), the defendant (as they were there), the judge (who instructs the jury based on evidence and the rule of law), and the jury (who ultimately make the decision based on the full trial process and all the evidence).

It works both ways and we both seem to be victims of the process.

However, I can only speak of experience in my case, which has seriously damaged my ability to trust anyone, as my FA is an intelligent, level headed person who you would not suspect to make a FA and everyone, my friends and her friends, all seemingly believed her on this basis.

Again, I in no way am against victims of rape, and would like to see improvements to secure more convictions, but only if the evidential test can be satisfied, and to stop spurious claims coming forward.

If it were up to me both sides would take a lie detector to be included in the evidence, perhaps that might work.

Thanks - SJ