Accused of rape

[Whyme650]

Hi there
I was recently accused of rape and assault. Without being too specific, we never had sex and I was arrested hours after she claimed that I raped her.

I was told that she consented to a rape kit being taken, I also consented to my intimate samples being taken.

There is some kind of chance, albeit a minor one, that she genuinely believes that she was raped, as I believe she had trust issues and a massive fear of rape and we were on potent cannabis edibles, which she never takes, and she was acting EXTREMELY strangely. This is a small chance because she was literally laughing at me and I have a video of her laughing at me when I confront her about falsely accusing me. She did give me a blowjob earlier in the day, (before the edibles, when she had the capacity to consent) but the accusation was that I raped her in her vagina.

I had a terrible duty solicitor who clearly did not care or believe me, she told me to just tell the police everything and as such I said a lot of stupid things they could use against me.

I have a few questions:
- Could I be charged and convicted of rape even if they take forensic samples hours after the incident and there is absolutely none of my DNA in her vagina?
- Could a false accuser finger themselves or otherwise put my DNA evidence in her vagina?
- Can her DNA (that was on my penis) be distinguished as saliva as opposed to vaginal fluids?
- She told me she was on her period and I did see her pads, does this change things? (I would have had no period blood on my penis, etc)
- She ended up literally paralysed. I know that cannabis does not do that to you. If she drugged herself to falsely accuse me, would this in itself be enough to convict me?
- Could I be charged with assault if she had no injuries on herself? If she self-inflicted injuries (i dont know if she did), would a lack of my DNA in them clear me?
- Do you think someone, possibly with mental health problems, could genuinely believe they have been raped and assaulted from CANNABIS?

The most important question I have:
I am currently still with the duty solicitor that was provided to me, she has been really unhelpful. However, is there any point at this stage (pre-charge bail) to change my solicitor? I am not a wealthy man and would a solicitor actually have any effect at this stage past keeping me informed better etc?

Sorry for the question heavy post, thank you for your support.

[Peter1975]

Hi and welcome to DM, although I am sorry that you find yourself here.

The best person to ask is a solicitor and as you don't seem happy or comfortable with the duty solicitor provided, I would advise that you search around for another one. Don't be afraid to speak to several but those recommended by Rights Fighter here are all solid choices.

Our members recommended sols and barristers thread is here:

https://www.daftmoo.org.uk/mooforum/...ist-solicitors

They are all plotted by location on a google map, here:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...9217064305&z=5

Having a solicitor you feel you can depend on can make a lot of difference to your peace of mind if nothing else but I suspect that the sols will all tell you to wait for the results of the tests which could make a difference to a charging decision.

Keep cool.

[Whyme650]

I was arrested on suspision of rape and assault about 3 months ago. Initially, My bail was extended weeks before I was due to return, but this time I had heard nothing even a few days before I was due to return to the station. My solicitor called me two days before I was due to come back, to tell me the police had instead released me under investigation.

I know that being released under investigation has no time limit which is bad. However, logically to me, this step down in severity and dropping of conditions implies to me a good thing. Additionally, since a rape kit was conducted hours after the alleged rape and we never actually had sex, they would have had enough to charge me by now?

I was wondering if this is just wishful thinking, if this is not how it works in practise and with covid, or if this actually does mean something?

[post moved to existing thread for continuity CH]