Husband of 22 years accused of rape

[wutheringheights]

Hello
my husband of 22 years has been falsely accused of rape - I have so many questions but am very nervous of posting, but one question I really need the answer to . . . The person who has accused him has apparently done so before but my husbands solicitor says there is no way of finding out. My husband has admitted to having sex with this person and it does not look good, he has never been in trouble and it is a very rare occasion that we are ever apart. Can someone please help me?

[witsend]

sorry

sorry you have had to find your way here, but you have come to the right place. We understand what you must be going through because most of us have had similar experiences. Do not feel scared to post, someone on here may be able to offer advice. Most important, you and your husband are not alone.

[RFLH]

Hi wutheringheights, sorry to see you here. Have I got it right that your husband had consensual sex with woman and she's now claiming rape?

Do you know if the previous claim made by this woman ever resulted in a court case?

[wutheringheights]

I don't know the place information came from is very solid though.
It's a long and complicated story and I am frightened that someone may recognise what I post.

[quinnb]

Regardless of the fact she had made a false allegation in the past - the police still have a duty to take this one seriously.
If the previous allegation was made to the police and proved to be false that will be flagged up on thier system - and then that means they MAY not charge your husband. And also it will affect her credibility in court.
BUT if it was never reported to the police then none of the above will count.

Bet that was a bit of a shock - the old bill and I bet in numbers come crashing in at stupid oclock in the morning???

[wutheringheights]

As far as I can gather it it made it to court then was thrown out whatever that means? There are so many reasons why I know the other person is making a false allegation, I just don't know where to start, anyone who makes an allegation yes it should be investigated but I have known anything like this in all my life. Just what if the allegations are false I've lost my home my business my husband my children have lost their father and as far as I can make out the police are there to find the truth not just to try and secure a conviction. What about the innocent who protects them?

[Saffron]

Unfortunately many police are not there to investigate whether or not a crime actually took place, but merely to gather evidence that a crime has been committed. They will not necessarily be interested in anything that clears your husband. The police work to targets, and some are unscrupulous about how they meet these targets.

Pass all the information you have that supports the fact that the allegation is false to your Solicitor - do not under any circumstances pass it to the police. Plod have been known to "misplace" evidence that is helpful to the defendant.

Take care of yourself. I know what you are going through, having been there myself. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk in more detail.

Saffron

[Rights Fighter]

Unfortunately I've been involved with prisoners' cases where the accuser(s) have made other allegations that were then not followed up, either they were false or NFA'd.

YOu need to find out more about this. If it was reported to the police then your defence solicitor is entitled to have sight of that information, although they may have to apply via the judge for it. Has he been charged yet?

[wutheringheights]

past accusations

Yes he has been charged and was sent to prison for 2 weeks, a friend of ours put the bail money up and he was bailed out of the county on a tag until the court date (when we went to the plea hearing he was nearly taken away again because the judge said the person up put up the bail money had to be present my husbands barrister seemed unaware of this and the prosecutor put him a good word in and got him 48 hours grace, doesn't exactly fill you with hope but we have been assured that his barrister is good) we have told the solicitor about what we have heard and he says it would have to go before a judge before he could look into past accusations, he just seems reluctant to do this, surely this has got to have a bearing on the case?

[Saffron]

Absolutely it has. In cases like this, (where it is the issue of consent that is being contested) the credibility of the witness is absolutely pivotal. The jury will simply be asked to decide who they believe.

If she has a history of making allegations like this, you must investigate.
I would push you sol to get this info. I know this sounds awful, but you need to expose this woman for the liar she is. Dig up every tiny bit of dirt you can one her. Is she on facebook or other networking sites? Might be worth having a look.

The previous allegation made it to court but was then thrown out. It's imperative that you find out why. Maybe the accuser backed out, or maybe something came to light that exposed her as an unreliable witness. Ask your sol to apply for her medical records as well. Often people who make FAs have a borderline personality disorder or other MH issues, such as outrageous attention-seeking. (Of course that does not mean people with MH issues are unlikely to be raped; often they are more likely, as they are vulnerable. But her med records could offer up some helpful info.)

Is your sol a specialist in these types of cases? Please do push him on this. We didn't push our sol and we lived to regret it desperately. Your sol might be reluctant to do this because of the extra work involved - if you receive public funding it does not pay him very much - but you have to do this.

[wutheringheights]

facebook

Yes I follow her on facebook - facebook is acutally coming up in his case quite a lot, the barrister told us she was requesting medical records and basically told us "I'm not buying this at all" that was after watching the video interview. Still we have a long way to go and I am the one constantly fighting, I think if I gave up on him now he wouldn't make it! I've read loads on this site it has been so helpful and I am gathering everything now the solicitor won't know whats hit him when I land in his office. Thanks everyone.

[Saffron]

It is almost certain that the request for her medical records will be denied, but your sol can apply to a judge for access. The CPS are not going to give up any info that may hinder a conviction lightly! Make sure your sol does not give up on this line of investigation. Ours did, and we just accepted it. We thought she was the expert...actually she just couldn't be bothered.

I was the same as you - the one who rang the sol, researched, hunted for info. My husband was a mess - suicidal and self-harming. I was the one who dragged him to the docs, made sure he attended his counselling appointments, chased the solicitor and hid all the sharp household objects. I found this site which was a huge support. He found self-harm sites and ones that give advice on how to commit suicide.

Stay strong. We are all behind you.

Saffron

[wutheringheights]

pre-trial hearing

Hello Everyone
looking for some more information. Someone has given my husband information today and it just doesn't sound right - he was told that there is still a chance the case could be thrown out at pre-trial hearing if the Crown think the case isn't strong enough. I feel he has been given false hope. Does anyone know?

[goldfish]

Hi

We have been told the same thing, mostly by friends as they know my husband well and the woman involved. They don't know all the details though as we are not allowed to discuss things with anybody in case it compromises the case. Our solicitor told us he had a similar case and the man waited 10 months before it was eventually thrown out.

my husband was hoping this would happen to him but the solicitors said it wasn't guaranteed and we should prepare for it to go to court, especially with the present political climate.

I have also read somewhere that the evidence against a man should be of a high standard. Whether that's true or not i'm not sure after reading some of the experiences on this site.

[Casehardened]

I think (and please remember this is only my opinion, not based on anything factual) that, with the present climate of financial stringency, the CPS's minds are being concentrated wonderfully by those at the Treasury.

After all most cases are defended on legal aid therefore the total bill for one case could easily run into half a million ( one solicitors website suggests that if one were to defend oneself the bill could be between £100K & £200K, so double this and add the court costs) never mind the cost to society of locking up a (usually) productive breadwinner to a family.

This theory might explain why so many cases have recently been NFA'd whilst we know from our members that many have been pushed to trial in the past