Historic accusation of sexual assault

[kanday]

Hi i know no one can help but i had to join and post, i can't belive i've found someone in the same position as us, i was just looking to see if there were any types of support groups for what we are going through, my husbands cousin is also making these accusations and because of this my ex who i have 2 little girls to and has never liked my husband having never even met him! has taken full advantage of the situation and refused to let my girls return home, this has been on going since july and we have a date set for in july to have a finding of facts in a family court to get the girls home where they belong, my husband moved out of our home as soon as the accuation came to light so the girls could come back and we have signed undertakings through court so there would be no contact between him and my girls but still my ex hasn't let them come back (they are 5 and 7) this is why we are having a finding of facts, if you're not sure what this is it's like i said held in a family court and the judge will basically decide who is telling the truth oh and the girl who has made the accusation has already said she wont attend so we're summoning her!! along side all this my husband has to appear in front of the magistrate on the 18th april does anyone know what happens here will a date for a trail in a criminal court be set? This has turned our lifes upside down, we have a little boy of 17 months and i am expecting our little girl in 5 weeks, obviously socail services are involved and my husband can only have contact with his own children be it under my supervision and when our little girl is born my mum has to also come stay to supervise in case i go to the bathroom!!!! We all know my husband is innocent and all strongley support him it's just so hard all this has come through a drunken argument she even laughs at the beginning of the police interview i can't belive they are persuing it! She has no idea the effect it has had on our lifes, my husband has to have 2 solicitors(1 for each case) so has had to give up work, he said not to worry about the trail as he is innocent and is glad to be getting his say but my cousin was on jury duty not so long ago on a similar type of case and she told me over half of them had already decided the guy was guilty without even hearing anything, they wanted to get home!! this scares me so much, i know people pre judge because he's male!! I'm just getting through everything one day at a time and trying to think positive!! my thoughts are also with you x

[Casehardened]

along side all this my husband has to appear in front of the magistrate on the 18th april does anyone know what happens here will a date for a trail in a criminal court be set?

Hi Kanday,

As you can see from looking at this forum, your situation is sadly not unique. In many ways is is far worse for the partners/wives of those accused as they are implicated by association. It does help to talk and write about your feelings and fears and there are many active members on here who will sympathize with your emotions and experiences. Do consider starting your own thread if you feel you want to do this.

To answer your specific query, I'm guessing your husband has already been charged with an offence. If so it will be triable so the magistrates will commit him to crown court. They do have the power to set bail or not but if he is already on police bail (and it is a first offence) then they are likely to extend this until the crown court date.

[Saffron]

Hi Kanday

I have moved your post to a new thread so that more members can see it and respond with help and advice.
I'm sorry you find yourself here, but glad you have.

Stay strong.

Saffron

[kanday]

thank you

Thank you both for your replies and help,
caseharderened, my husband has not been arrested or placed on police bail, he went to a voluntary interview back in august and we didn't hear anything, despite both our solicitors contacting the cps on several occasions requesting to know what was been decided, it was only 2 hours after been in the family court at the beginning of this month that my husband received a phone call from his criminal solicitor to say he was to attend their office the following day where he was to be summoned by the officer in charge, his solicitor suspects that because in the family court we pushed for the finding of facts and a date was set for july that my ex's solicitor, knowing he will be found innocent because obviously no evidence and a no show from the girl making the accusation, she has informed the officer in charge of the case who has then rushed it through so he is in front of the magistrate in april, his solicitors said if he were to be found innocent in the family court before seeing the magistrate, when he was there they would likely say if a judge has found him innocent then they probably wouldn't take it further in the criminal court. are you still with me? it's all very complicated! will he be placed on bail at the magistrate then? So now we face a family 3 day hearing in july to get the girls home and then a criminal trail whenever that maybe, and in the meantime we have to continue living in this hell, i can handle it it's my little girls i worry about, their dad is constantly telling them i don't want them and calling me degrading names in front of them, they are scared to tell him they want to be home with me because they get shouted at, thank fully they are head strong and they tell me everything and know to take no notice but it's not good for them, all they want is to be home with their mum, social services are no help even though they are now involved with our family, even when my 7 year old was in hospital over night and my ex failed to tell me till she was out the next day! When people go around throwing these accusations about for whatever reason they have no idea the knock on effect it has on everyone else life's. thank you for your time.

[Casehardened]

caseharderened, my husband has not been arrested or placed on police bail, he went to a voluntary interview back in august and we didn't hear anything, despite both our solicitors contacting the cps on several occasions requesting to know what was been decided, it was only 2 hours after been in the family court at the beginning of this month that my husband received a phone call from his criminal solicitor to say he was to attend their office the following day where he was to be summoned by the officer in charge,

Hi again,

Sorry, I assumed your husband had been arrested & bailed because this happens in the majority of cases. Was he 'invited' to the interview by the OIC or did he request the interview?

Oddly enough the question of whether someone could be charged without being arrested came up recently and I suggested this wouldn't possible because the caution wouldn't have been administered. Was your husband cautioned at the beginning of the interview? Presumably he wasn't charged after the interview.

As you say, it is very complicated and I think you are right in thinking that the criminal procedures have been speeded up because of the impending family court proceedings. I have no personal experience of child custody cases but I imagine no court would direct that the children should be returned while the accusation against your husband is outstanding. Therefore in fairness to everyone, the accusation needs to be dealt with first.

As your husband hasn't been arrested, bailed, or charged, it does seem that the police have an open mind about the case. A summons to the Magistrates court (is this what the OIC gave your husband) without arrest & charge is usually issued for less serious cases such as motoring offences. Again it seems if this has been done to speed things along.

If your husband's accuser is reluctant to turn up at court to give her side of the story, this doesn't bode well for the prosecution's case, does the OIC know this, it's worth mentioning it to him if not.

Stay strong, write everything relevant to the case down, highlight any discrepancies, you need to show that the accuser is an unreliable (as well as unwilling) witness.

[kanday]

Hi thanks for replying again, he requested the interview and it was arranged by the officer and his solicitor, he was advised to leave by his solicitor and wait to be arrested but wanted to try sort it out what with the family court nearing at the time, after the interview he was told he would be contacted but never was.

I understand where the courts stand with the children this is why my husband moved out and i signed an undertaking that no direct contact would happen between him and my girls in hope to get them home quicker but their dad even stopped my contact until we went to court to sort that. But yes as you say the accusation needs to be dealt with and we want this more than anything.

Myself and my husband have watched her police interview separately with our family solicitors and she shows herself to be unreliable, her answer to majority of questions is i don't know or i can't remember she just 'knows' it happened 15 times of 3 she can vaguely recall, our solicitors have said there is so much to question and cross examine and nothing at all to make them think he did it, the only thing they say is towards the end of the interview when she cries that this is what will persuade the judge?? I too would be crying if i were sitting and lying to the police, like i pointed out earlier she even giggles at the start of her interview but because she is female and cries she will be belived, it's worrying.

Yes it was a summons to the magistrate on the 18th of april that he recevied, the officer told my husbands soicitor that she had been backed in to a corner to make a decision?
They are aware in the family court that the accuser is unwilling to attend and have said they will in that case summon her to do so, does this mean that she then HAS to attend? We hope so, so that she can be cross examined, it's the only way the truth will come out? thank you so much for your advice

[Casehardened]

It is difficult to separate out the family issue from the accusation as they are so linked.

Your ex is keeping the girls at his home because of the accusation against your husband, but who did the accuser (your husbands cousin) originally make the accusation to?

Generally, if the accuser goes to the police, the police interview them, then arrest & interview the person who is accused, then run the evidence past the CPS who (eventually) make a decision as whether to proceed to trial. Presumably this didn't happen in your husband's case as he went to the police station voluntarily and initiated his interview, so how did your ex find out about the accusation? If he hadn't stopped the girls returning to your home, you wouldn't have started the family court proceedings & presumably the accusation would still be in the enquiry stage rather than heading for the Mags.

Motive is the key, if the matter does get to court, your husband needs to show a reason for his accuser to lie about what happened. On re-reading what you have written, I'm wondering if your ex has in some way engineered this accusation against your husband partly through general resentment, and specifically to gain custody of his daughters. If so, it explains the complexity and provides the motive.

Apologies for all my questioning & surmising, and please don't respond if you feel I've been too intrusive, but on the other hand, it may be helpful for you to be able to discuss matters in a completely anonymous setting

[Rights Fighter]

Originally Posted by kanday
along side all this my husband has to appear in front of the magistrate on the 18th april does anyone know what happens here will a date for a trail in a criminal court be set?

The date for trial is usually set at a hearing at Crown court called the "Plea and Case Management Hearing".

[RFLH]

thanks RF.

[kanday]

Hi sorry for late reply, busy trying to get organised for new arrival on top of everything else.
My ex didn't know any of my husbands family, she has made the accusation during a drunken argument with her mother, i assume my ex has now spoken to her though to see if she was willing to attend the finding of facts and she has said she is not?! My ex found out about the accusation because when it came to light and socail services got involved it was the start of the school 6 weeks holidays of which they spent a week at their dads, so like my solicitor said it's just pure bad luck that it was in this week it happened, socail services said they had 24 hours time scale to speak to the girls to make sure nothing had happened to them! i asked my ex to return them for day at the socail workers request but he insisted they stay there to be spoke, i knew what was coming straight away. I don't understand what will actualy happen when he goes to the magistrates next month?
We have a date for in june to attend the family court to see how thing are proceding there, all we know so far is that my ex was to file statements by the 22nd of march and has failed to do so, my husands solicitor has been trying to make contact with my ex's solicitor to try find out what is going on but they have yet to reply. The socail worker came to see me monday and told me that even if my husband is cleared i'm never to leave him with the girls and i have to supervise him changing and bathing his own daughter!! so basically she's saying that even when he's proved innocent in their eyes he's still guilty!! I also saw my solicitor monday and she made me very nervous about the finding of facts, she said it's much harder to prove someone innocent in it because it's based on probability and because the girl has made an accusation she already has 50%, that with the fact that in the police interveiw she crys a little (like i said as i would if i were having to lie and to the police) even though she laughs at the start it doesn't sound good!! what a world we live in.

[Casehardened]

Hi,

Yes thanks for coming back on this, it's all clear now, but as you say, what dreadfully bad luck that the SS got involved during the week that they were at your ex's. Quite obviously your ex is now using the girls as a weapon against your husband (and you for marrying him!)

I (fortunately) have not had any dealings with the SS, so I'm hoping one of the other members will be along to advise how best to deal with them at the hearing.

[kanday]

still here!!

Well we've progressed a little since i last posted, we have the finding of facts in 5 weeks and we have a date for the criminal trail, i'm finding it so hard to talk to people about it because it just confuses them! We feel like we're actually getting somewhere now we're counting down the weeks to the family trail, i know it's not the end of it all, that won't come untill oct!! but at least i can fight for getting my girls home when my husband is found innocent in the finding of facts, my ex is trying to get it delayed untill after the criminal trail in october because he knows she isn't going to turn up and he has no case! He has also made an allegation against me stating that i refuse to belive the allegation against my husband and therefore put my children in danger! it's a load of **** and my solicitor said it's nothing to worry about (my husband moved out when all this began and has no contact with the girls because i offered to sign an undertaking in order for my ex to let me have some contact with my girls)
My husband has now been bailed and a trail date for oct has been set, my solicitor(who was a criminal solicitor herself some years back) was very suprised at how quickly things were done from one minute no decisions been made about what was to happen to this, doesn't matter though main thing is the end is in sight i just pray my husbands solicitors get him a good barrister, there are a hell of a lot of things to pick out in her police interview even for me so fingers crossed the truth will be seen by all!! We've been told that the family trail is going to be harder to get a not guilty in but i can't allow my self to think of that happening since it will mean i have to seperate with my husband and he will not be able to see our 18month old son and our 4 week old, he's talked about killing himself if that were to happen and that scares me even more! It's going to be another year of hell but i'm sure we'll come out the other side of it.............we have to!!

[Casehardened]

Hi Kanday,

Thanks for the update, it's good that you now have dates to work to and are sounding positive.

Thankfully you won't have to deal with the emotional baggage of a jury in the Finding of Facts case, the judge will obviously deal with the 'facts' and if your husband's accuser isn't going to attend, there won't be the opportunity to question her, while your husband can give a full account.

Treat it as an exam, think of all the questions that he might be asked and come up with sensible truthful replies, any hesitations on the day will seem like he's trying to think of a cover-up!

[quinnb]

I have been through the fact finding. They are called a newton hearing. Now a couple of things. One the standard of proof is lower than a criminal court. Rather than all reasonable doubt its balance of probabilitys. Also under the childrens act people are free to say what they want. For example your false accuser admits under oath she made it up she is protectd under law from prosecution for peverting justice.or your husband admits he is guilty then again it can't be used in criminal evidence. Now this point I can be wrong on but the findings are secret meaning not even the police can know or be made known of them so I think it would have little or no effect on the criminal trial. But stress I could be wrong there. Also do your children on rule 9.5 meaning they have a guardian and in turn their own barrister.

[quinnb]

Also nearly always the courts go with the resident parent. So be prepared for uphill battle.