Charged with rape but innocent - please help with any advice you can give

[Joan1978]

its the first, they said its just to state his name and i assume his plea and shouldnt be there long.

You are very right and i have been crying at times which i would assume is putting more pressure on him as he said the other day he cant bear the stress its putting on the people that do know and are involved, i didnt even think that will include me!! I felt so strong the end of last week and just thought no scum bag girl is going to ruin my life we will get through this and fight it tooth and nail but think with the way hes been now i think he will fall to pieces and not be able to fight and it frightens me which means im stressing and getting upset which is clearly making things a million times worse!!!

We are in the north west rights fighter.

[fighter]

It is good that it is only the first hearing; you have enough time to prepare. Have you seen the statements of the accuser and other people? Hopefully you will feel better when you see them and you will see inconsistencies and your partner will have a chance to defend himself against those stories.

We met with our solicitor for a day after the magistrate court. That was helpful as the solicitor explained the process and then we went through the statements and the solicitor drafted my partner's statement against those statements. The solicitor also showed the whole context of the situation which was quite helpful. After that we feel much better; you can see more clearly where you stand.

[Joan1978]

That makes me feel a lot calmer, im thinking we should start now before this first appearance.. I havent seen anything, my partner has seen her statement and it doesnt match what she first said to someone, they have given a statement with the first story as well.. i really believed as the statements didnt match hers it wouldnt go through to this. im baffled its gone so far with the witnesses we have and the fact we had 3 days from when she first said it to before the police knocked as she couldnt decide what to do so surely if he had done it he would have washed his clothes and bedding instead of bagging it up for the police to prove he had nothing to hide.... How stupid we are to believe they would look at all this and see through her lies x

[fighter]

You are not stupid Joan, like most of us, we have some trust in the police before this thing is thrown to us. We also believe that the case will be dropped!

But never mind them; it is not unusual and all we can do is absorb as much as we can from the forum and fight this through. People have been successful in their cases and so we can be too :-)

Spending time in the forum is a good move already :-)

[Joan1978]

Thanks fighter, you have no idea how much i appreciate your support and advise on this. This forum must be a life saver for so many people, especially with the likes of you giving such good advise on not just legal matters but how to cope etc

x

[fighter]

hugs, Joan. You know you will amaze yourself, you will in the long run come up with your own coping strategies. I think it is different for everybody. Let us pray that your husband will be ready soon to face the situation.

[Sammi]

Please be aware Mary Monson's are the worst defence solicitors on the planet - If you have any possible way to change them do it.

We paid privately for my hubbys defence - and they did abdolutely nothing - 5 fee earners dealt with the case - kept leaving or were sacked and we were told 1 week prior to trial commencement by the solicitor that had picked the file up. that NOTHING had been done.

Unfortunately my hubby believed it would be thrown out which is what they had led him to believe from the start - he wasnt on their back believeing it was all happening in the wings but nothing!!

As a result of them doing nothing - I am even talking aboutthem having to get character statements faxed to the court on the morning of the trial!! my hubby is now residing at HMP.

Unfortunatly I found this forum after the event and I am so upset it wasn't prior as I am sure we would not be in this position had we had the right defence team who had actually gathered all the evidence that was available.

If you are unable to change Monsons, then make sure you call daily to make sure they are doing what they need to and I would even go as far to say get it confirmed in writing from them.

Sorry to put any doubt in your mind but they are Useless apart from collecting money in!

[Rights Fighter]

It depends on the individual solicitor as opposed to the practice but as I said in an earlier post, I have yet to hear a recommendation from anybody to them.

[NOHOPE]

joan
your partner sounds just like my hubby, in sure he thinks if he doeswnt think and talk about it it wil all go away (if only). however he has told family and friends and feels much better about that. he has his case and plea management hearing at beginiing of feb and he thibnks it will get stopped at this stage i dount it very much.

does anyone know if cases are stoped at this stage we have been given a date for trial in august trial set for 2 days.

[Rights Fighter]

Unlikely to be stopped at PCMH but could happen at trial with a good barrister. That sounds like a very short trial - two days.

[Mortons]

Remember in terms of transferring Solicitors the sooner the better.

If you have not yet completed legal aid forms with a solicitor (usually completed at the police station or on your first appearance at the Magistrates Court) then you are free to instruct whoever you want (regardless of who did the police station)
Make an appointment with a new solicitor and fill out the legal aid forms.

If legal aid was granted and your case is at the Magistrates Court then your new Solicitor will need to write to your old one requesting a transfer of representation. If they refuse then your new solicitor will need to get it listed before the Magistrates court.

If legal aid was granted and your case is at the CROWN COURT.
Your new Solicitor will need to write to your old one requesting a transfer of representation. If they refuse, the again your new solicitor will need to get the application listed before the Crown Court Judge. The JUDGE has to sign off on any transfer (and even if the original solicitors agree the judge can still refuse, especially near to trial dates). And Judges will generally REFUSE in most circumstances unless there is a very good reason. Lack of confidence or your average incompetence won't be enough, it needs to be more than that.

If the transfer is refused ultimately your only other option is to either say with your solicitor OR Pay privately.

[NOHOPE]

thats what they have said 2 days, so is it normally longer obviously i have no idea.

[Rights Fighter]

Mortons: I wonder if you would be so kind as to let us know who you are?

If you are a solicitor's practice who can be relied upon I would like to know. I have done a quick search on Google and cannot see that Morton's has a criminal defence department that is experienced in defending false allegations of sexual abuse.

[Mortons]

Indeed I do work for Mortons Solicitors based in Stockport. Can't see a pm option ???
Whilst I usually register on sites with my real name or nic the register page suggested not to. So thought I'd use my firm name. (and tac my firms website onto the profile - i'm sure all promo helps).
Like most criminal defence firms we deal with our fair share of false rape allegations (but also some genuiene).

Whilst I am unlikely to become a regular poster, I hope my posts assist those seeking answers bring some understanding.

[Rights Fighter]

I have already checked out your site and see nothing in relation to false allegations. I am happy to be corrected though.

I have set my permissions to accept private messages from you.

Please do excuse my cynical approach but we have been approached by dubious people before now. I am particularly protective of the (genuinely) falsely accused.