ACCUSED OF RAPE

[mrs unhappy]

My husband was accused of rape when it wasnt we had split up at the time and this girl that he met came around to our house brought some wine with her spent the evening and the next day with him they both consented to sex after this we got back togerther so just thouht of this as a one night stand and told her this so she claimed rape and my husband got 4yrs in prison how can a jury convict beyond reasonable doubt even the judge possible thought it was a load of rubbish hence only getting a 4yr sentence. She reported the rape after 1 week and at the time she was meant to be geting raped she made numerous phone calls to her family and friends as shown in her phone records and never once mentioned it to any of them. She claimed she was so scared and she had to wait till he fell asleep to escape why not call the police she called everyone else. What can i do about this how do i go about an appeal can anyone help.

[Ashley]

Dear Mrs. Unhappy,

Sorry to hear of your husbands, and your own sad situation, there are many contributors to this forum in a similar situation. You will find some very good advice and moral support within the pages.

I will however briefly summarise the present position:

Firstly though you have to put behind you the decision of the jury no matter how unjust it may appear, they have chosen to accept the complainant's account having heard the evidence. I agree, the sentence of 4 years is lenient and the Trial Judge may have had some misgivings but he cannot interfere with the juries decision and the Court of Appeal will not do so lightly either.

You are now in the position of having to try and mount an appeal, the only way that decision can be overturned. Trial Counsel will have no doubt already advised on the prospects of appeal, can I assume it is an adverse opinion? If so, it makes it harder but it's not the end of the road, not by a long chalk.

Next, your husband should not be even tempted to draft his own grounds, they will not have a snowballs chance.

If his trial solicitors do not agree with Trial Counsel's advice they may instruct fresh Counsel to advise, it would be most unusual if they do not ask you to pay his fee even if they are prepared to act pro bono. If they do agree with Counsel then you will need to find another solicitor who is prepared to look at the case afresh, the very least they will want additionally to the papers you already have, is a transcript of the judges summing up. This is always the first document a new solicitor will want to read as roughly 30% of appeals are mounted in whole or in part on a defect in the summing up.

You must understand that this is all a very slow process and you have to be prepared for the long haul.

I do not think there is any point in exlaining the process further at this time, it would only confuse and muddy the waters.

I do know of one or two lay, but reliable individuals who, in some cases, will have a look at cases. They are NOT available for teacakes and symapthy, they will give a brutal but honest assessment and can direct you to a good solicitor if they feel there is any merit in pursuing an appeal. This is in no way an advert for their services, for which they make no charge other than out of pocket expenses.

If you require any further advice at a more personal level then you can post your email via the regulators.

Ashley

[mrs unhappy]

Originally posted by Ashley@3rd January 2005 - 02:53 PM
Dear Mrs. Unhappy,
Firstly though you have to put behind you the decision of the jury no matter how unjust it may appear, they have chosen to accept the complainant's account having heard the evidence. I agree, the sentence of 4 years is lenient and the Trial Judge may have had some misgivings but he cannot interfere with the juries decision and the Court of Appeal will not do so lightly either.

You are now in the position of having to try and mount an appeal, the only way that decision can be overturned. Trial Counsel will have no doubt already advised on the prospects of appeal, can I assume it is an adverse opinion? If so, it makes it harder but it's not the end of the road, not by a long chalk.

Quoted post

Dear Ashley

Thank-you for your reply, when i was last speaking to my husbands solicitor he said he was waiting for a report of thr barrister to see if there are grounds for appeal but i will put to him what you have said.
My husband has been in prison for 1mth i have heard you have to appeal within 28 days.
If he does appeal could he end up getting a bigger sentence?

I also know that the prosecution are looking to appeal about him only getting 4yrs where does he stand on that?
and can this woman claim compensation if so how does that work?

As you can understand i have so many questions that need answering and i appreciate your help.

Thank you once again.

[Ashley]

Hello again Mrs. Unhappy,

Glad to be of any help I can.

Loosely speaking an appeal has to be lodged within 28 days but it is not something to worry about at this moment in time, if it is not excessively late in being lodged then Counsel simply has to explain the reason for delay i.e. Christmas holidays, awaiting a trial transcript. It would be prudent though to notify the Registrar that an appeal is being considered.

Even if there is a substantial delay, this could be explained, for instance, that fresh legal advisers have been instructed and need to appraise themselves of the case.
It can add some delay to the process as the Registrar has to give permission to 'appeal out of time'.

The Court of Appeal, can, in exceptional circumstances order that the time served between an appeal being lodged and refused not count towards time served. It will NEVER happen if grounds have been drafted by Counsel, one of the reasons I advise against lodging them yourself. Even so, the Court will only make a penalty if the grounds are frivolous. Although in law they can add substantial penalties it is very unusual for them to make a penalty of more than 28 days and the grounds would have to be frivolous in the extreme. Not really something to worry about.

Compensation is available to all victims of crime, it is not something you should be worrying about.

Just like a convicted person can appeal if the sentence is excessive, the Crown can appeal if it is, in their view, excessively lenient. I don't want to worry you but 4 years for Rape is lenient, it is a matter for the Court whether, in all the circumstances, they think it is EXCESSIVELY lenient.

Regards,
Ashley

[val lavender]

Hi Mrs Unhappy

Im sorry to hear of your situation, such things are never easy.

Ashley is quite right in what shes says, but there are other aspects to consider. Perverse as it may seem tthe best time to mount a defence is after a trial, as many aspects of a case that are not contained in the initial evidence are brought to the surface in the courtroom.

A thorough examination of the trial transcripts, in conjunction with the written and forensic evidence can often reveal anomalies and discrepancies that can be utilized in any appeal.

If I can be of any assistance my e-mail address is vallavender@msn.com

Regards

VAL

[maria]

hi all as anyone heard from mrs unhappy and how she is? x

[JaneyM]

Hello Val, Maria, RF, Saffron and anyone else who knows what I'm going through.

My husband was recently accused of rape, we are currently awaiting results of DNA tests. Already it should never have got this far but as with the system the way it is, he is guilty until proven innocent.

When the police came into our home and arrested him they never gave a thought to how it would affect myself or my husband. As far as they were concerned he was guilty. I needed to ask him a thousand questions but was left in the house alone and wondering what an earth had just happened, it felt like I was just watching not actually taking part.

After being released from the police station the following afternoon he gave me an account of what actually happened in the said night. He is my husband, we have not even been married a year yet but he is no liar. Although he is on bail 'pending further inquiries' our whole life has been turned upside down because of this girl. He has a good job, good prospects and up until this our marriage was great and we were trying for a baby. All this strain and stress is taking its toll as you can imagine. I just hope we can get through this.....

I know this girls name, her number and roughly where she lives and it breaks my heart because I just want to know why. I know that I can not do anything but just want to know, why is she doing this, why would anyone want to put another person through the misery? what incests these people to make these false accusations. Whats more my husband was told that if he said that intercourse had taken place then the case wouold probably be dropped as it is her word against his but as he wants to tell the truth because it didn't happen then its just a mugs waiting game. We asked the police whether we would be able to take action against her and they said that they don't like to as it stops other victims coming forward. But are we not the victims in this. Her name will never be printed, she will never have the humiliation and torment.

Sorry for bleating on just needed to get it off my chest and speak to people who understand.

Thanks

Janey

[Saffron]

Janey, you poor thing, I really feel for you. You have certainly come to the right place for help, as many people who regularly post here understand exactly what you are going through.

There are practical things you can do at this stage. First and foremost, get a really good solicitor, one who specialises in sexual offences. there may be a cost attached to this, but when it comes to your husband's liberty, it will be worth it.

Secondly, contact FASO www.faso.org.uk (i think) who specialise in helping people who have been falsely accused. Val does a lot of work for them, I believe.

remember NEVER to post details of the case on a public forum, not even this one, as it could potentially harm your case.

If you have this girl's phone number, it must be incredibly tempting to call her and ask her why, or rage at her. I had the number of my husband's accuser as well, and it took incredible self-restraint not to ring her up (or wring her neck&#33 The only thing that stopped me was the thought that it would cause even more trouble for my husband.

and finally, do take this seriously. I know that sounds mad, but we were so certain that someone at the CPS would see it was total nonsense that we kept convincing ourselves that the case would be binned. Sadly this didn't happen. The police do not even need to prove that intercourse took place before they press charges. and rape is such a political hot potato that the inclination of many prosecutors is to "have a go at it anyway". They do not need any corroboration to press charges. The accuser's word is enough.

Make sure you look after yourself as well. anger is a very destructive emotion. I found counselling helpful. Try to take some comfort in the fact that if your relationship can get through this, you will be indestructible.

Please feel free to message/mail me if you want to ask me anything, I will do my best to help you. You can rant and bleat at me all you like. I sincerely wish you the best of luck.

Saffron xx

[val lavender]

Hi Janey

all of Saffrons advice is good, particularly the bit about staying away from your husbands accuser. Any attempt to contact her would be regarded as witness interfearance with severe consequences for both you and your husband.

It can be helpful to blow off a bit of steam once in a while and FASO are good at listening to such problems and can sometimes suggest practical steps that can be taken and recommend solicitors who specialise in this area of law. Their number is 0870 241 6650 and they are open from 18.00 till midnight Monday to Friday.

It is interesting to hear that the police "dont like taking action against false accusers" - the police arnt paid to like their job, they are paid to do it and that includes investigating attempts to pervert the justice. If you go to www.kotae.co.uk
and press the JGC button there is a site devoted to false rape allegations and how to get the police to take action against the idiots who commit this offence.

I hope that the above is of some help.


Regards

[JaneyM]

Thank you Val & Saffron

It was good to hear some decent advice from people who understand. My family and his are trying to support us in any way they can but it's not the same. He's having trouble sleeping at the mo as we have to go back to the police station in a few weeks time. Somedays he rants about me not caring about him and inside I'm screaming that i'm still here for him. He wants the duty solicitor that was there initially to be there when we go back. Do you think that we should seek an independant one as we haven't done so yet?

Janey

[val lavender]

Hi Janey

if your husband is not sleeping and starting to show signs of suffering from anxierty, which is quite understandable under the circumstances, it is essential that you get him to see his doctor.

In my opinion, you should go together,explain the problem and see what the doctor recommends. Just getting a good nights sleep can make a big difference to how you feel and cope with a very difficult situation. To seek such assistance is not an admission of any kind of weakness, but a sensible step to take to try to reduce the effects of the stress of this kind of problem.

This is also a good time of life to try to take your mind of your troubles, in order to prevent constant worrying about the situation, in any activerty that will do the job. Whether it is 10 pin bowling, the cinema or playing squash, anything that will get both of you to concentrate on something other than the situation you are facing can provide essential relief and remind you that life is not all bad.

In terms of which solicitor to use, there are a couple of things to consider. As long as the solicitor who first represented your husband is competant at police station work there is nothing to be gained by changing to another for your next appearance. One of the critical issues being that he must insist on full disclosure so that you know what you are dealing with.

If the matters is to be dropped then you will have no need of a specialist legal team. If your husband is charged, you will need to ensure that the practice responsible for his defence have experiance in this field. There is nothing wrong with asking them to provide details of similar cases that they have handled.

Depending on where you are in the country, FASO may be able to advise you of solicitors who are experianced in this field and other defence specialists.

I hope that the above is of some use to you.


Regards

[maria]

hi all back from hospial now but still very poorly hi janey iv just read your post i know what you are going through its easy to say stay strong but not so easy to do but do it the best you can don't let his accuser see that she is beating you keep your head held high and get as much support as you can especialy from friends and family and you will get a great deal of support on here get as much help from your doctor that you can as well i wish we had its a bad subject to talk about with your gp but they do understand and they will help and please what ever you do DO NOT contact this girl this could land your husband in JAIL it nearly happend to my son if any of us can be of any help just shout i wont be on again 4 a while as i need to go back 2 bed but i will try pop on as soon as i can you have a great lot of peeps on here that will help you through this terrible ordeal take care luv maria xoxox

[JaneyM]

Thanks Maria,

Everyone on here has been a great help, hope you make a good recovery will look forward to hearing from you soon .

My hubby is being very negative at the moment, I'm trying to keep him positive but am worried that when we go back to the police station in about 3 weeks they will not have the DNA results back and the waiting game will continue. He has been hoping that a letter or phone call would have happened by now saying that the case has been dropped or that she has withdrawn her allegation but we all live in hope eh!

Take care

Janey x

[Saffron]

Originally posted by JaneyM@21st March 2005 - 10:10 PM
Thanks Maria,


My hubby is being very negative at the moment, I'm trying to keep him positive but am worried that when we go back to the police station in about 3 weeks they will not have the DNA results back and the waiting game will continue. He has been hoping that a letter or phone call would have happened by now saying that the case has been dropped or that she has withdrawn her allegation but we all live in hope eh!

Take care

Janey x

Quoted post

Hi janey

My husband's DNA results took 14 weeks to come back. The police failed to tell him that his accuser had telephoned them and withdrawn the rape allegation a week after he had been arrested. for 14 weeks he still believed that he would be charged with rape. when they finally got the forensic results back, he was charged with indecent assault.

He was charged because he had admitted to some consensual sexual contact. If he had simply denied everything, he would not have been charged. However, because he admitted that he and his accuser had had sexual contact, the police decided to press charges.

You said in an earlier post that the police had told your husband that he should admit sexual contact, and they will drop the charges. All I can tell you is that in our case, this was the worst thing my husband could have done. There was no dna evidence, no bruising, scratching etc. If he had lied, and simply denied everything, there would have been no case. but because he told the truth, he was charged, tried, convicted and sent to prison. Do not trust anything the police tell you. They are interested only in getting a conviction, and they will twist everything he says to their advantage. take legal advice on everything you are asked to answer. i know this sounds melodramatic, but i really wouldn't wish our ordeal on anyone.

Good luck again.

Saffron

[JaneyM]

Hello Saffron

My husband has admitted to the police that other consensual sexual contact did take place, but they wanted him to say that he did have sexual intercourse with her when he didn't. The thing is she has said nothing in her statement about the sexual contact where as he has. Its all still so hard to get my head around. I'm trying to keep things togther but he's making it so hard for us, its just all going down hill.

I can't seem to get onto the FASO website either is it www.false-allegations.co.uk or .org.uk neither seem to work.

I'm off to see my family this weekend, it always seems ta take my mind off things listening to my sisters problems.

Thanks again for listening

Janey x