Falsely accused and in pieces (*repost due to typo*)

[Lee2312]

Hi All.

I was arrested and questioned under caution for the alleged rape of my niece in 1999. I would have been 14 and she would have been 9.

Their is absolutely no truth in these allegations. I was bailed without charge to return to the police station in 4 months. I am going through hell.

I am now 25, educated to degree level and have a decent respectable job.

The dates mentioned were very sketchy and the main date mentioned i believe i can prove i didnt have unsupervised access as my sister was pregnant.

They mentioned at interview that my niece had been to the doctors at the time but my solicitor said this works in my favour as is the alleged incident happened this would have been picked up on at the time...nothing ever was.

She has had big issues with her mum, moved out at 16 with a guy who is a similar age to me. I believe she is doing this to split the family up and she is jealous of the close relationship i have with her brother (who is now 14). I try to inspire him and give him good guidance on what he wants to do when he leaves school etc.

I also believe she is jealous of the fact that i have made something of my life and my family respect me for that.

It could have been different for me...i watched my brother die when i was 10 and was given various drugs by the people i trusted most at the time. between the ages of 10 and 12 my life is a blur, i have no memory...it was such a traumatic time but at the time this incident was alleged to have happened i have good memory and these allegations are completely untrue and hurtful.

I turned my life around and i was so proud of the day my mum and dad attended my graduation. It was a great day....but now this.

I know it was her current boyfriend that called my employer and told them of the allegations. I was advised not to tell them by my DC and i had to lie to them. It all came out and i had some time off but now i have returned to work with full support from everybody. It took so much to walk into work on that 1st day but i wanted to hold my head up high. I have nothing to be ashamed of.

My whole family is supporting me in this. The police told me when i left the police station not to go home as i may put my family in danger. This almost broke me. They also told me my sister was now a witness but my mum tells me my sister supports me and questions the validity of these claims.

She has said things dont add up and she knows it is a lie. I know it has taken alot for her as she is torn but she knows the truth and has said things about my niece to my mum which i feel i have to tell the police. Should i?

I need some help and guidance on how i can cope while i still have 3months+ still left on bail and also any advice on the case. i am in pieces...

[Lee2312]

im really struggling to make sense of it all. Why somebody would want to lie about something which causes me and my family so much pain and suffering? Its evil. Im trying to stay strong for those around me but inside im falling apart. I suppose thats the reason im here. I have been advised to seek support as i cant do it alone but thats always how i have dealt with things. i thought i was strong until this...

[LS]

Hi Lee
Welcome to the site, and sorry for why.

Regarding the why would someone do this, there are many reasons but they all come down to compensation, revenge, attention-seeking, validation or a get-out clause. You can let it drag you down by constantly going over and over in order to find the answer, but this is the time you need to try to keep any evidence which may help if it should go to court. Make notes of things people say, particularly regarding the girl concerned and keep them safe. Memory will fade when you may need these things.
Any texts, emails, msn messages, store on separate media away from the house. Police can, and will, seize anything which could help their case. By the same token, they will seize anything which will help your case in the vain hope it may help theirs, so you don't want vital information going missing.

There is a lot to be said for talking to your gp. Ignore the stigma of antidepressants, but they will give your mind a chance to slow down and give your body a break. Just remember they take about a month to start working, so you need to think about a month ahead, not just today.
Many here have been through the same or similar as you, and can help and advise. More importantly is that you are not alone, there are many in the same situation and we all draw strength from each other.
Feel free to come here and vent or rant. It helps, believe me.

[Lee2312]

Thanks for the response.

I have been writing alot of things down which i believe are important to the case.

As i mentioned in the original post It was said in interview that these incidents happened at a time when my sister was 5 months pregnant and i didnt have any unsupervised access. This can be verified by my sister. I didnt realise this at the time but as soon as i did i rang the police but they didnt seem interested. I think this is vital.

It was ineveitable that my sister was going to speak to my mum and she has told her that it doesnt make sense. She believes me yet the police said as i left the police station on bail that she was a witness.

My sister told my mum that when these allegations came about her daughter had told her she had been reluctant to have an intimate relationship with her boyfriend. Only the next week she saw her mum and told her she thinks she may have recently have had a miscarriage and that she may be pregnant again.

She also told her mum that 'she didnt realise it would go this far and that she didnt want to hurt me'

I also have alot of other information that i think is highly relevant.

What should i do with this information. I dont want to wait until my bail is up. The police also havent even bothered to speak to my sisters other 2 children who will no doubt tell them what a fantastic uncle i am. Why?

Also a year after this alleged incidents social services were involved with my sister and her children and spoke to my niece. If it did happen she had the perfect opportunity to tell them. The whole thing doesnt add up but i dont know what to do.

[LS]

The moment someone makes an allegation of a sexual nature, the police automatically assume there is a case to answer and all they do is collect information to pass on to the CPS which would aid a prosecution. They are generally not interested in anything which proves your innocence/does not help their case, so anything which is relevant is best passed straight to your solicitor. It may also explain why witnesses which you feel help your case are not contacted by the police.

I am sure that if your sister was a genuinely a witness then you would have received something official warning you to avoid contact with witnesses? I could be wrong, but I'd expect something along those lines. Some police take personal offence against this kind of accusation and doing anything which causes you stress and worry is just icing on the cake for them.

[Lee2312]

That may be the case. All he told me is that your sister is a witness. I have not been warned or anything like that. It seems to me that if anything she is a witness for the defence.

Why would they bail me for such a long time? The problem i have is that if i am charged i am worried the case will enter the public domain which would undoubtebly ruin my life. I dont want it to go that far and if the CPS are to make a reasonable charging decision i want everything to be taken into account.

My sister also told my Mum that she told the police when giving a statement that 'she couldnt remember a time where i had unsupervised access when i was 14'.


Also why would her boyfriend want to call my employer? i was arrested on a monday and he waited until the friday to do so. The only think i can think is that it shows this is some kind of sick smear campaign. Maybe the police have gone back to her and told her they are struggling and this is an act of desperation. I just dont know. I dont have contact with my solicitor or the police.

The only time i called the DC he told me to be aware the calls were recorded and that if the CPS decided there was more than a 50/50 chance of conviction it would go to court. Surely this is like flipping a coin with somebodys life.

Apparently he told my solicitor when escorting him from the station after my first interview that i was a 'nice lad'. He also gave me his number on my bail sheet incase my employers should become aware and he would clarify the matter for them. My solicitor said he has never seen that before but to be wary. I dont know what to make of it.

[LS]

They would bail you for any length of time they see fit - it could be their workload, or to give themselves time to investigate, or even down to the court's availability if they were planning ahead, which they would be doing.

Unfortunately, the worry about the case entering the public domain is a very real one and nothing you can do anything about. It's unfair but you'll have to cross that bridge when you come to it. It could be taken out of your hands anyway, due to the nature of the offence, the "victim's" relation to you, plus the IQ level of the average tabloid-reading inbred is not very high, you could well be bailed out of the area for your own safety.

How do you know for sure that her boyfriend called your employer? It is actually the kind of thing the police would do, because the offence is against a child they would have to make sure that things like employer Family Days didn't put anyone at risk. You know you're innocent, but plod don't and don't care.
They did the same to me, went to my employer within days of my charge, which put me out of work from that point on. I don't want to rain on your happiness, but I don't want to lie either.

The CPS will only go with a case if there's more than a 51% chance of a conviction. It's called risk, and something we all do day in, day out. It's not really flipping a coin, but it's about whether they waste taxpayer's money chasing a conviction that isn't going to happen.

Now police will readily say whatever they think floats your boat, in order for you to trust them and for them to then get a conversation out of you. The more you speak, the more they have in order to twist and turn it against you. Like giving you his number "in case your employer became aware." He's hardly going to call your employer and tell them it's all been a big mistake. But should your employer find out, you then ring him which gives him an excuse to call your employer and try to get more dirt on you and to try to turn them even further against you. Icing on the cake.
I found out the hard way what the police are like, and I wouldn't trust any of them as far as I could throw them so I would say your solicitor is right to be wary of them.

[Lee2312]

I am wary of it.

Another thing is that my niece has been on medication for a couple of years 'beta blockers' i think. She always told the family this was because of witnessing the domestic violence my sister suffered. Could this have affected her mentally?

She always seemed to be jealous of my girlfriends too which can be proved by things she said and did. maybe this is a motive?

It was only a couple of months ago she was asking me to take her shopping and for birthday money...then this. When the police came i asked them why and they told me maybe it was best not to tell me infront of my mum. I told them i had nothing to hide so my mum heard it all.

Another thing is that my character stands up well. I am educated, well spoken and hold down a good job. Whereas she has never worked, moved out at 16 and the rest. Will this be taken into account?

As i mentioned i think she is jealous and this could be one of the reasons. I feel like i am being treated despicably.

What did you mean about being bailed out of the area? These allegation relate to when i was 14 years old. i am now 25 and have an unblemished record. They will find nothing on my laptop or phone. It just doesnt make sense how they can do this to somebody

[LS]

Well, I have no experience of beta blockers, but some medicants cause some effects in certain people. One of my exes changed drastically when she went onto Prozac years ago, yet it's now a common antidepressant. It hasn't done to me what it did to her. So who knows?

Jealousy is a motive, yes. Harder to equate, as we tend to associate that sort of jealousy with Hollywood psychopaths not in your average female, but it's just as valid a motive.

What I mean about being bailed out of the area is to do with the age of the victim at the time. She would have been classed as a minor, so the charge would be described as a child sexual offence and unless I'm wrong it would be no different than if it allegedly happened last week. Although she's an adult now, back then she wasn't, so for your own safety you could be charged, appear at Magistrates Court and a term of bail could be a restriction to live at a certain address until the trial. Partly for your own safety, and partly to make it difficult to interfere with witnesses.

It's an unfair world, I know only too well. You can only try to weather it out until someone decides if it is to be NFA'd, or go to trial in which case you can defend against the accusation. At the moment you can't do anything.

[Rights Fighter]

Lee

being bailed for several months is not unusual. As LS said the police are very busy with these cases, many are genuine and some are not.

Any hard evidence (such as text messages) that you may have do NOT give to the police as some officers are not particularly bothered as to how they notch up their convictions. I have known evidence get "lost" or even some officers will say they never received it in the first place. I must add that this is not general practice although it might seem so on forums such as this.

The police will not be particularly interested in any other information you might be able to give them verbally, apart from teh fact they might go to the complainant and tell her, so she can change her story to suit.

You say that your sister cannot remember when you had unsupervised access when you were 14 years old. Unsupervised access to whom or what? Why would her being pregnant cause her to restrict your access to who/whatever? if this really did happen then you need to remember why she would do this - it might prick her memory.

THERE IS NO PROPERTY IN A WITNESS. If she has become a witness for the prosecution but is more helpful to defence then she can be helpful to the defence case and your solicitor should contact her for a statement so that should this matter come to trial, the barrister can ask the "right" questions.

As you have not yet been charged then not a lot can happen where a solicitor can assist, apart from advice and handing them any evidence. You would not get funding until charge so hopefully you have found a solicitor experienced in these matters who will not charge you for advice and holding onto evidence as opposed to the police having it).

You need to keep coming back here if only to confirm that you are not on your own.

Good luck and please keep us updated.

[Lee2312]

Thanks for the response Rightsfighter.

When i said i didnt have unupervised access because my sister was pregnant it means that my sister didnt go out during that period as was suggested to me in interview. Obviously she wouldnt go out drinking when 5 months pregnant so me and my niece were never alone.

The police said very clearly on interview that the alleged incident took place Christmas 1999 when i was babysitting as my sister had gone out for the night. She knows she didnt go out during this period due to the reasons mentioned above.

As i mentioned i also think its important that my sister told me my niece had said 'she didnt think it would go this far' and lied about her reluctantce to have a physical relationship. You cant be reluctant and then say you may have had a miscarriage and may be pregnant again. The police do not know all this and obviously i dont want to be charged with something i didnt do.

What do you think i should do and what do you think of the case? I think that it is ridiculous and that they are clutching at straws but it is distressing nonetheless.

I know it is difficult to have an all encompassing view as you dont know all the details.

[Lee2312]

Sorry just to clarify....unsupervised access to my niece

[Rights Fighter]

Lee, you said:

My sister also told my Mum that she told the police when giving a statement that 'she couldnt remember a time where i had unsupervised access when i was 14'.

If this went to trial the Crown would say something along the lines of "well she could have gone shopping couldn't she? It was a long time ago and the complainant could have misremembered where her mother had gone".... there is always a get-out and you need to be aware that the Crown will use (in some cases quite rightly) alternative scenarios.

By the way, you being well educated, well spoken etc does not preclude you from abusing anybody! Also if she has had problems at home and since leaving home, that can also work against you as it could be said that the abuse she sustained, caused her to go off the rails. People who were abused as children, physically, mentally or sexually often do that.

If that is part of your defence depart from it now! If you wish to adduce "bad character" on the part of the complainant it needs to relate to something that the Crown cannot say is a result of the alleged abuse; such as fiddling DSS (fraud for financial gain) for instance......

[Rights Fighter]

Lee, please be aware that the public can read the messages on these forums - that includes the police.

It's also not a place to post up stuff in the hope that the police will see it and recognise you either - for instance writing here "I didn't do X, Y or Z" will not persuade any police officers viewing this, if they are involved in your case, that what you are saying on here, in your defence, is true.

Try not to discuss too much about any hard evidence you may have as they might well come around and take it using a warrant "on suspicion that you have in your possession......something else".

[Lee2312]

I understand all of this rights fighter. As i mentioned i came on here for some support and to hopefully make sense of things.

I have never encountered a situation like this before and all i can do is fight something that i know has not happened. I am not saying anything for anybody's benefit its just i feel so helpless.

Thanks for the advice