please help.....

[Casehardened]

.... i said surely she would know what date she had been raped and the officer she was sorry but she couldnt comment .....

Doubtless the officer has already formed her own opinion but it would be completely unprofessional to share it with you; imagine the consequences if (when) the case is dropped and the accuser/parent/solicitor were able to say "well of course the OIC had indicated all along that they weren't taking it seriously so they probably didn't investigate it as thoroughly as they should"

You may find that she will be a litle more forthcoming to your solicitor as it would be one professional chatting to another & not a direct comment to you

[new hope]

Hi there

If a friend of the girl said that about the girls mother finding out and forcing her to make a statement try and get the friend of the girl to repeat what she said if your son has a mobile phone get him to use the record function on it to record was has been said, everything that is said in these situations even word of mouth can be vital and if your son can record anything that he is hearing trough friends of the girl this may be evidence if anything comes from it!

hope this helps

[Rights Fighter]

Unless the other person knows they being recorded then this evidence is unlikely to be admitted into the evidence - plus most mobile phone recording facilities are not good enough for covert recording.

[worried parent]

as far as i know the girl in question has been interviewed by the police ,i dont know what shes said to them but i do know that her and the girl whos made the complaint are friends again .......... so im asuming she hanst dropped her in it .
i dont know what the legalities are but ill i know is that my son and the girl are the only two who knows what happend , obviously there storys differ so i guess its down to a matter of who they believe . its now been 11 days since he was interviewed and weve heard nothing since , he went to school today and saw the school welfare officer who was suprised to hear whats happened , she said the usual policy is for the police and social services inform them of that because the two people go to the same school they have to be kept seperate , the last time it happened the two pupils had to be escorted everywhere they went but for some reason the school hasnt been informed .

[worried parent]

had a realy bad night last night and day today emotionaly , its getting to me real bad now , cant stop thinking the worst . broke down crying in work again today, i know hes innocent but worrying that the police are taking too long to sort this out . i cant face another sleepless night.

[worried parent]

can anybody tell me ? when the officers came to our house and asked my son to go to the station for a voluntary interview , after they interviewed him and brought him back home , would they do a report on him , ? i.e his attitude , body language , manner , tone , helpfullness etc , and ad a note as to whether they thought he was telling the truth or not ? or would they just send in the tapes ? and if they did would there opinion make any difference as to whether he gets charged or not ?
sorry for mithering but so many questions going through my mind .

[Rights Fighter]

I am so sorry to read this but have to say that this is not at all unusual. It might seem like it but you are not going mad.

Your last post arrived just as I posted this up!

Unfortunately the police do not instruct body language experts or note demeanour for the DPP to consider. They send the tape and as fat as I know, the transcript to the Crown. If the Crown decide that there "is a realistic prospect of conviction" it will be sent to the DPP.

[worried parent]

also would the same be said of the girls interview ?

[Saffron]

Rights Fighter will know for sure, but I am pretty sure that they send off everything to the CPS. Although having said that, some police forces have been known to withold evidence that may be helpful to the defence.

I know it's tough and you feel like you are going mad. Sorry you are struggling. It's cold comfort to know that we have all been where you are now. It does get better. Keep coming back and keep posting - better out than in.

Here's a cyber-hug for you

[Rights Fighter]

All evidence, which would include the DVD ABE interview of the accuser would also be passed to the CPS.

There are some unscrupulous police officers who will hide evidence that would assist the Defence case. It doesn't happen in every case although it sometimes appears that way.

[worried parent]

thanks for the hug saffron......thanks for your reply too rights fighter ....

all thats happened is my son has been interviewed , he has not been bailed to re appear at the police station at a future date ..... is that relevant or is it just normal .

[Casehardened]

when the officers came to our house and asked my son to go to the station for a voluntary interview

Hi WP,

From this I assume he wasn't arrested. If not he wasn't in police detention and therefore wouldn't need to be bailed, bail just being a means of remaining in police detention without actually having to live in the cells.

So to answer your query, not being arrested is more of a cause for optimism than not being bailed, as most who are accused are arrested on the doorstep before being cautioned.

[worried parent]

after two weeks of frustration and anguish we decided again to ring the police to see whats happening , we spoke to the detective whos looking at the case and she told us that shes still looking at the girls facebook and is hoping to have everything tied up in the next day or two..... she asked how our boy was and how he was coping at at school ( they both go to the same school but as shes a year older they dont have classes toghether) we told her he was doing ok and had seen the girl but never went near her , we asked her will he be charged and she said it has to go to the cps , she said they will make an appointment with the cps as soon as they have finished , and she will let us know as soon as she hears anything , she then said ( without being prompted ) that theres no cctv or anything and it looks like its just her word against his , is this a good sign or is it just a fob off ? i mean , she didnt have to say that , she said i know your worried but ill do my best to get it sorted asap . if theres no evidence ( which they cant be because my boy told the truth ) then they wont charge him will they ? just on her word ?

[LS]

Many have been charged, and convicted, on just "her word" alone. However just because I and others were charged by corrupt police and taken to court by corrupt cps and convicted by ten ignorant people, doesn't mean your son will.
I wouldn't place any emphasis on the OIC being nice - they are well known for being nice to your face and anything but when they're away from you.
The fact that he hasn't be charged or bailed is a good sign at face value. You can drive yourself potty thinking out the what-ifs.

[RFLH]

sadly its down to the CPS - hopefully they won't, but I'm sure they'll let you know as soon as they've found out.

I do hope that you'll get the news that you want.