NFA'd now she wants right to review

[Jr33sky]

As the topic title states

Was falsely accused but within 4 weeks the OIC had already made the decision to NFA the case but at same time the accuser was asked if she wanted her victim right to review to which she said she needed a week to think.

The OIC gave her a week to think then she said she needed another week to think!! Now it's come back that she is going to appeal, has anyone any experience of this, I thought I was finally out of the woods and now I'm having to deal with all of this,

They made the NFA decision without even having to look at my phone and like I say they made the NFA decision quickly but Its been 2+ weeks and no update on the right to review

Has anyone gone through similar?

[Peter1975]

Hang in there Jr333sky.

Most often it is only found after months of limbo that the complainant has asked for a review of a non charging decision and the original decision to NFA has not been communicated to the accused until after this is complete.

The VRR applies to CPS and police decisions in England and Wales and a complainant actually has 3 months to exercise their right to a review but this simply means that a different crown prosecution lawyer or senior police officer to the original decision maker will make their own assessment of the evidence. In the majority of cases, they agree with the original decision.

There is no telling how long this might take unfortunately and it's fair to warn you that it could be delayed even further if the police decide to pass on responsibility for an awkward complainant to the CPS who could possibly ask for further work to be done on the case.

Hopefully though, whatever prompted the quick decision will mean that the case is closed fairly soon.

Make sure you keep your phone evidence safe ( back it up!) just in case and look after yourself while you wait.

[Jr33sky]

Hang in there Jr333sky.

Most often it is only found after months of limbo that the complainant has asked for a review of a non charging decision and the original decision to NFA has not been communicated to the accused until after this is complete.

The VRR applies to CPS and police decisions in England and Wales and a complainant actually has 3 months to exercise their right to a review but this simply means that a different crown prosecution lawyer or senior police officer to the original decision maker will make their own assessment of the evidence. In the majority of cases, they agree with the original decision.

There is no telling how long this might take unfortunately and it's fair to warn you that it could be delayed even further if the police decide to pass on responsibility for an awkward complainant to the CPS who could possibly ask for further work to be done on the case.

Hopefully though, whatever prompted the quick decision will mean that the case is closed fairly soon.

Make sure you keep your phone evidence safe ( back it up!) just in case and look after yourself while you wait.

The OIC told us both seperately on the same day that it was going to be NFA , that's how I know about the 2 weeks it took her to decide she wanted the right to review, to be fair the OIC has kept me updated quite well so far, even in his own words he said he felt they investigated it thoroughly enough to go with the NFA and felt that any appeal would generally go my way too,

He also said likewise as you've stated that it goes to a senior officer now who hasn't been involved in the case for them to look over it.

It's just depressing someone pushing so hard to try to get me locked up for something she knows I didn't do, it's disgusting and knowing she won't get into trouble for this even if the right to review gets turned down just makes you wonder where the justice is in this world .

[Jr33sky]

Just had an update from the OIC that the senior officer hasn't agreed with the NFA And wants to follow further lines of enquiry and now start going through my phone and potentially speaking to potential witnesses as the OIC charge said they didn't want to go back to her without having looked thoroughly through it or something like that.

[Peter1975]

I'm sorry to hear this latest development,, you must feel as though you are right back at the beginning.

The good news though is that the officer in the case (OIC) and their superior* both agree that there is insufficient evidence for a prosecution and that is without looking at the evidence on your phone.

Hopefully the new senior officer will be further persuaded by the text messages etc and sooner rather than later.

It would be wise to back up your phone before handing it over and it's worth asking if it's contents can be cloned/downloaded while you wait. It can take several months to get a phone back.

It's more than wise to speak to your solicitor if you have one.

* OIC is often mistakenly assumed to be "officer in charge" which is a misnomer. The officer in (the) case is usually a detective constable (DC) which is too lowly a rank to make charging decisions.A DC will always have a higher ranked officer overseeing their work. In your case, a superior officer will have already signed off on NFA. Fingers crossed, their colleague will agree.

[Jr33sky]

I'm sorry to hear this latest development,, you must feel as though you are right back at the beginning.

The good news though is that the officer in the case (OIC) and their superior* both agree that there is insufficient evidence for a prosecution and that is without looking at the evidence on your phone.

Hopefully the new senior officer will be further persuaded by the text messages etc and sooner rather than later.

It would be wise to back up your phone before handing it over and it's worth asking if it's contents can be cloned/downloaded while you wait. It can take several months to get a phone back.

It's more than wise to speak to your solicitor if you have one.

* OIC is often mistakenly assumed to be "officer in charge" which is a misnomer. The officer in (the) case is usually a detective constable (DC) which is too lowly a rank to make charging decisions.A DC will always have a higher ranked officer overseeing their work. In your case, a superior officer will have already signed off on NFA. Fingers crossed, their colleague will agree.

In regards to the phone they had already seized my phone when I was arrested back in July but just hadn't looked through it yet until now and obviously the senior officer wants to look through it but I don't know what they expect to find as the previous officer said it just shows previous history knowing the accuser so how could they use it as evidence.

Thanks

[Jr33sky]

Also I would have thought their colleague would have disagreed already with the fact they didn't even check my phone for evidence and now he wants to do that and speaking to potential character witnesses, and you were right I've been speaking to the DC in the case, it's a case of consent, I'm not disputing we had sex, I'm saying that it was 100% consensual , how could I go about proving that or how would they dispove it as I've read some horrible things about it going to court in her word Vs his even with a lack of evidence.

This has completely put me back to the beginning and I just feel like she's not going to give up until I'm locked up and that they're not following up on what I'm telling them from my side.

[Peter1975]

I know this is difficult, but please try not to overthink things and take each stage as and if it comes.

The police have to cover their backsides, especially with a difficult complainant. If the accuser isn't happy with the result of the review she can raise a complaint with the forces professional standards department and if still not satisfied ask whatever the police complaints authority is called these days to follow it up. She also has the right to have a decision judicially reviewed if she has the money to take the police to the high court so has the capacity to cause trouble for the police if they have missed anything particularly obvious.

The chances are the police don't know what they are expecting to find in your communications but if there is anything showing normal friendly relations after the supposed rape that should go in your favour. Likewise, if the messages show a bitter breakup just before she makes the allegation to police but never mentions it once in the messages, it's going to show some evidence of a motive to get you into trouble. If they show nothing of evidential value, at least they have looked.

I've never known police to be interested in character witnesses but if the accuser told a friend about the alleged rape, the friend will be what's known as a "first complaint" witness who will be able to give evidence of the accusers demeanor and go some way toward showing the accusers consistency if she has shared any details. For instance if she goes to her friend and tells her that you said A and B and did X then Y while you were in the bedroom but goes to the police the next day and claims you said C and D then did Y then X in the kitchen, it will be evidence of her unreliability as a witness.

It's for this reason it's often advised to snoop of the accusers social media and take screenshots as they sometimes change their stories on there which again shows some inconsistency. Any posts about coming into money might show she is motivated by CICA payments. Posts about "teaching you a lesson" can be read two ways, for example teaching you lesson for breaking up with her or teaching you a lesson for raping her but screenshot them anyway and share them with your solicitor only.

Some people will say that paying privately for a good solicitor to make representations to the police on your behalf is beneficial and better than sitting on your hands, especially if you have forgotten to mention something important in interview for example but others will say it's best just to wait it out. Speaking to a solicitor for case specific advice is definitely recommended anyway.

Hopefully you will have been reading here long enough to have already been advised to write your own timeline of events and keep adding to it as you remember things. Consistency and remembering details can go a long way toward establishing credibility. We all forget things and get muddled, especially as time passes. A timeline will also help to explain your defence quickly to a solicitor.

Consent is a difficult area of the law but essentially, the prosecution has to prove 1) that there was no consent and 2) that you did not have a reasonable belief in consent. This obviously cannot be definitively proven so it comes down to what you say happened against what she says happened and if charged ultimately it will be down to a jury to decide, beyond a reasonable doubt, that what she says happened is an accurate and truthful recollection and that your recollection is not truthful or accurate. If a jury finds both of you truthful and believable, they must have a reasonable doubt.and believe me, it's not at all easy to tell bare faced lies to a good barrister and a jury, many false accusers have failed spectacularly.

Lastly, I know how you must be feeling but there is lots of hope yet. The vast majority of these cases do not end up in courtroom. I know it feels like everything works in the accusers favour ( and there is no denying that there is some truth in that ) but at this stage, it is just an accusation that has to be investigated and you need to look after yourself, mentally and physically. Local support from trusted friends and family is always recommended but there is always a friendly ear here.

[Jr33sky]

It's the overthinking that's killing me as I have never been in trouble with the police before and before I showed up for voluntary questioning I texted a few people who were concerned about me that I think she was trying to get me done for rape as the night in question a friend who had been around her house a few days prior texted me the night I went over saying he thinks it's a trap and I laughed it off, I should have bloody listened to him and never gone over her damn house!!!.

I'm just worried they'll misconstrue it thinking how did I know what I was going to be arrested for. As I say she's alleged other ex's have done this to her before but it's only been rumour and she's never reported them but the OIC didn't seem to care much when I told him that.

Any advice on me telling people before I got down to the police station what I thought I was being arrested for might help put my mind at ease...like I say I've never been in trouble with the police for anything before ever and she just stopped me halfway through sex , also which she'd never done before and my friends text just before going over about it being a trap, I should have listened to my gut and never gone over!!!

Also to add on I didn't use a solicitor during the questioning as I thought I would go in and tell my side of the story and they'd believe me and just throw out her accusation but I emailed a solicitor and have been updating them on the case as the OIC has been calling and emailing me updates

[Peter1975]

99.9% of us had never been in trouble with the police before and the shock and horror of the situation has caused us all to overthink at times so you are not alone. Overthinking can be exhausting which in turn impairs our thought processes. It's helpful to try and give yourself a break by doing something distracting.

I'm not going to lie, your foresight could be seen as you knowing you have done something wrong. However, why on earth would you text this to your friends if you had? Perhaps you just had a feeling, you knew she was angry with you for some reason, perhaps she was acting strange or you parted on bad terms and coupled together with your friends warning about "a trap" you had reason to speculate. After all, you had no idea why you had been called to the police station and your mind was working overtime wondering what possible reason there could be, trying to put jumbled up thoughts together, you guessed right. The fact that you are worried about this also shows that you are thinking objectively which will stand you in good stead. You have time to think about how you can best answer this question if it comes up.

If I was investigating this case, I would certainly want to interview your friend and ask him what he meant by "a trap" and the reasons he had for saying this. It surely didn't come out of thin air. However, the police may not see it as significant. This is certainly something your solicitor should know about.

You are far from the first to have foregone the right to have a solicitor present. I always think this shows an honesty and a willingness to get things cleared up. Although I should stress to other readers that having a solicitor certainly does not make you look guilty or that you have something to hide and you should always ask for one, foregoing the right is a mistake that an innocent man would make. I'm glad that you are now in touch with one.

Apropos of nothing, it is important to be candid with yourself and your solicitor. If you have been a bit of a cad and she has a genuine reason to hate you, it can go some way to showing motive for her to lie.Even if admitting poor behaviour might show you in a bad light in some respects, it doesn't make you a rapist. I can think of one case where a man simply wouldn't accept the relationship was over and leave his ex wife alone. He would later plead guilty to harassment but it really was a struggle getting him to put himself in her shoes and see that he had frustrated her so much that she had escalated her complaints to the police from genuine harassment to rape - He was cleared of the rape.

This is not to say that I think you necessarily have done anything wrong, but merely an illustration that the truth is on your side.

Keep cool.

[Jr33sky]

The only reasons I had texted it was because as you say how strange she was acting and the fact my friend has texted me saying he thought it was a trap me going around that night.

The girl always wanted to be with me and I wouldn't leave my girlfriend for her but we always used to have casual sex even when I was with my girlfriend so I just figured she wanted revenge as I never picked her.

I was staying at my girlfriend's when the police came to my mother's house 2 days after the alleged night and my mum and girlfriend were asking me why could the police be knocking and that was the only reason I could come up with that the accuser finally had enough that I wouldn't leave my girlfriend and just wanted me to suffer so she trapped me like that.

Keep in mind as I say the accuser has a history of saying to me she's pregnant when she hasn't been and that she'd always threatened to tell my girlfriend we were having sex if I didn't .

Like I say I think I walked right into her trap!
i think she just simply had enough of me not leaving my girlfriend and wanted me to suffer.

[Peter1975]

Well, there you go. You can answer that difficult question. Why on earth would you text that and then forego legal advice at the police station if you were guilty? You just put two and two together is all. You can also answer the most important question: why would she lie about being raped?

I am presuming that you told the police much or all of this in interview which is probably why the decision to NFA came quickly.

if there are any texts of her making threats to tell your GF or admitting lying about being pregnant you can prove what you have said and that she has lied in the past. This is hardly going to help in making her a credible witness.

It's not a great leap to suggest that a woman, who has made threats and false claims before, decided on revenge when her feelings were hurt by being rejected and that she went as far as inviting you over to stage her own "rape". It seems to me that it's more than likely you did walk into a trap. Don't beat yourself up about it. What's done is done and anyway, who would imagine anyone they knew could be so wicked? If you hadn't gone that night, she might have simply picked a previous time and you wouldn't have the evidence of a friend warning you of a trap.

There seems to be a lot in your favour. Hang in there.

[Jr33sky]

You've got that literally all spot on!!
I did tell the police all of this but they seem more concerned about finding evidence to linking me to doing it rather than the previous things I've pointed out that she's done but as you say I will let my solicitor know about those and hopefully they will help me along with our mutual friends who all knew that what her and I had was just a sexual relationship.

My only concern is we only really ever spoke over WhatsApp and that as I was obviously seeing my girlfriend I deleted the accusers texts often so that my girlfriend wouldn't find the conversation, I assume the police can't get back deleted WhatsApp chats as that would REALLY help me in showing her character and how much of a nutter she really was!.

[Peter1975]

Many people will tell you that the police carry out one sided "investigations" (they call it casebuilding) and I'm afraid I can't disagree that this often seems the case. This is why some people feel that paying a solicitor to make representations on your behalf is a price worth paying. Speak to your solicitor about your concerns and seek their opinion.

It will likely be nigh on impossible to prove that her sole intention that night was to frame you. It could be that she was hoping she could make one last successful attempt at winning you over and decided on the spur of the moment to cry rape when she realised it was never going to happen. . Who knows.

Definitely make sure your solicitor has all of the information. I have no idea if forensics can recover deleted whatsapp messages but mention this to your sol too.

[Jr33sky]

So basically the only case they have against me is her word Vs mine and the fact I sent that text guessing before finding out what it was, Is that enough to bring a charge or even a conviction in court.

I'm desperately trying to scroll back through my Google cloud now and find screenshots of her threatening me to leave my girlfriend ect but all that does it prove a potential motive and doesn't actually come down to what happened in the room that night

I thought the fact I have absolutely no marks on myself and neither does she and her words halfway through were she wasn't really feeling this so I pulled out and stopped and didn't even cum or finish would be enough common sense for them to think hold on a second this just doesn't make sense.

Surely that has to work in my favour right?