Son falsely accused of raping step sister !

[J&PVTHW]

My world was turned upside down this year when my ex husband's daugter who is my son's step sister has accused him of raping her.
I was made aware of the accusation via text message firstly then a phone call. After various calls from my ex husband (who immediately took his daughter side against his son) the girls mother decided it was not in the best interest of 'the children' for this to go any further.
4 days later we receive a telephone call asking for our address in order that the police call to discuss the allegations. The police attending our house and spoke to my husband and i although refused to speak to my son. The officer did not disclose any allegations and was very vague about what had been said. I at this point disclosed that the 2 families have never got along and only a few months previous my family had been the subject of a hate campaign by my son's step brother and sister. I was then informed by the officer that my son would be interviewed and we would see what would come of it.
10 days later we were told that my son was to be arrested and questioned about the allegations although the officer was not willing to tell any member of my family what these allegations were but willing to tell our solicitor ??
I was forced to take my son to the police station to be questioned (bearing in mind my son nor any member of my family had been inside a police station) which is the hardest thing i have ever had to do in my entire life. My son was questioned for 5 hours and was then refused bail until i had either removed my daughter from our family home or my son found another place to live. I am now in a position where my son and daughter are not being allowed to stay in the same place yet social services refuse to have anything to do with the situation.

There is no evidence, no witnessess no dates ??? Just an accusation

Please can somebody point me in the right direction of help, i feel like i'm all on my own.

[Browneyedgirl]

Hi J&PVTHW

I am so sorry you are in this situation, but welcome to the forum, you are in the right place for support to help you through this. It is not surprising you feel like your whole world has been turned upside down, it is a horrible situation to be in.

You mentioned that the families never got on. Now is the time you need to cast your mind back and remember any dates, incidents and who was involved. Start to document everything you can think of and any supporting evidence, then put it into chronological order – this will help with your defence. Go into as much detail as you can, do not leave anything out. This might take some time to do and just when you think you have got everything down, you will recall something else. Your solicitor will sort out what is relevant and what is not.

Talking of solicitor, did one attend the interview with your son? If so, did he give you advice following the interview? Is he a specialist in false allegations of rape?

If your son is able to and while it is fresh in his mind, get him to recount the interview to you. Type out the questions he remembers he was asked, then underneath, in a different colour or font, write what he remembers was his response. This will help you to analyse what the police have to go on and should help you with compiling your document suggested above. Also note down what their possible motives are for making the allegation.

You mentioned that social services refuse to have anything to do with the situation? That baffles me given the information you have said. How old are your son and daughter?

Many members have come into contact with the police and social services for the first time in similar circumstances and will be able to empathise and support you through this ordeal. I know this is probably the last thing you need to hear at the moment, but you need to be strong and focused on helping your son fight this.

Keep coming back for support. Once again welcome.

[Faith]

Absolutely fantastic practical advice from browneyedgirl

It might not be easy for your son, but NOW is the time to build up all relevant info, while it remains fresh. that way, if and when a charge comes, you can pass it straight to the solicitor and the battle can begin right away

Is the rape a historic allegation. Was the girl underage at the time?

What happens now is a terrible waiting game. The police will gather evidence and then pass it to the CPS who will decide whether a conviction is likely. If it is over 51% likely, then your son will be charged but that isn't the end of the road.

Make sure you get a specialised solicitor.
post your county up here and someone may be able to reccommend a good solicitor.
it is so important.

This is not an easy time for you, my heart goes out to you. I suggest that both you and your son seek support from your GP.

Keep returning here for support. There are many people who have been through very similar ordeals.
Take Care

[fighter]

Great advises browneyed and faith, I lost my long post yesterday! welcome to the forum and sorry to hear your story.

You are in the right place and dont think you are alone because we are here. We have many people who are experiencing the same situation at varying stages of this process. I am a partner of an accused who had been rebailed for 10 months before being charged and now waiting for trial. But most importantly we have lots of mothers here who had their son accused also like your son. To name a few, there is denise, gem, muminstate and browneyed (?). You can follow their threads as well as they can definitely relate to your feelings and worries for your son. I agree with browneyed, you definitely have to stay strong and calm as right now your son would probably see you as his anchor in all this craziness.

Well done for posting in the forum. Hugs and sending you strength and courage vibes.

[Casehardened]

Hi J&PVTHW,

It's all too easy to get fixated on the police's role in this, especially as this is the first time you have had any dealings with them.

It may help to bear in mind that regardless of what individual officer's opinion of the allegation are, by reason of directives from well above (consider who passed the SOA Act in 2003!) they are obliged to arrest and interview the accused person if it is at all possible that the alleged offence may have taken place (partly to enable fingerprinting & DNA sampling to take place) and yes, in this category of offence (historical rape*) just an allegation is considered to be good solid evidence (again by virtue of directives from the 'Justice' Department)

As Browneyedgirl & Faith have said your priority now has to be to discredit the witness and show that the allegation was prompted by malice, although the respective ages at the time of the allegation will be relevant as to how it is proceeded with.

*Edit to add that on re-reading your OP, not sure whether the allegation is historical or current (i.e. within the last 14 days); if current, DNA forensics are relevant

[Denise]

I've just logged On and your story sent shivers down my spine
First of all welcome to the forum

Your fight has begun
My son was also accused by his 2 EX step sisters who also never got on

They made mine and my children's life hell while I was with their father and I told the police every single detail I could think of (and there was plenty) what helped in my case was that I lived with them every 2 weeks so I knew their lying scheming ways first hand and the police got to hear it all

I dragged every single bit of filth I could out in the open about them all and thankfully I think a lot of it was proved by police school and mental health records

We too had never had dealings with the police before

You don't get told exactly whats been accused but you can kind of build a picture by what your son was asked
It took 5 months of hell from arrest to CPS making a decision and they only finally made that because the family hung themselves by providing the police with more info (we were never told what it was)

My heart goes out to you and your family
You have the mum feelings I had and it's horrible knowing its all done on hear say with no evidence and no witnesses

Ours was historic with all 3 involved under 16
Xx

[J&PVTHW]

Thank you all for your kind words it really did mean the world to me today when i opened up the page although a few tears were shed.

My son is now 18, he was arrested 9 days before his 18th birthday. His step sister is 12 and the allegations are over an 18 month period before hand although no dates have been released.

I have been collecting evidence as you have instructed to discredit this child fortunantly this is now quite substantial. She has been allowed to continue on facebook where several children continually call her a liar and has had 4 boyfriends since the allegations were first made.

I have been made to give a statement giving 'backround information' about my son which i felt went very positively but a solicitor friend of mine now states that i should not have done this as it can and will be used against me and my son. I have already given the police in my statement some evidence of the harrasment this child and her family have put on my family and it has been documented in my statement. It also disproves that she said she has held a lot of hate for my son over an 18 month period but was consistantly messaging him during the same time.

The police are not interested in speaking to my daughter who is 14 years old who has lived with my son all her and his life. The social services are not interested in doing any report as they say my son has been removed from his home so bears no risk to my daughter.

We now have to wait 6 weeks before my son answers bail to see how this is to be proceeded with. I am finding it increasingly difficult to funtion on a daily basis and have been more or less unable to work.

Am i to give the police my additional evidence or keep it incase it goes to trial?

Again, thank you so much for your kind words and support.

[Denise]

Bless you
My son lost his 21st during all ours

Be prepared for him to be bailed and rebailed a few times, this is normal

Take screen shots of anything you can get your hands on

I didn't join the forum until after I had answered every call from the police

Take your solicitors advice
Do you have family pics or videos that show a normal family ? If so get them on a cd and show your solicitor

Always take 3 copies of everything, for you, for sol and in case sol says to give to police

Revenge and money are the main reasons this is becoming more and more common
Xx

[J&PVTHW]

Hi Denise

I have just been reading through your story GOSH it bears such a resemblence to mine !!

The allegations the child has brought took place over an 18 month period the only date/month that was given was last september/october ironically the same time as she abused my family. Over the christmas period she posted photo's on facebook of my son in a family get together then accused him of rape 6 weeks later. It really doesnt make sense. I have given all this information to the police, i have said that this family are money orientated and live on benefits which i feel is the motivation behind all this.

Secondly, this child has been misbehaving at school and attends a child phycologist councelling sessions before this allocation was made. Apparently when this child was questioned why she was misbehaving in school she then in tern suggested it was because my son had consistantly raped her over a period of time.

I am at my wits end Denise it is making me feel so ill with worry but i am so pleased to have had the oportunity to speak to people who are in the same boat as myself.
I have cut off most of my friends as i do not wish to discuss this with almost anybody, my husband keeps telling me to try and pull myself together but i feel like im stuck in a black hole. I'm struggling to eat meals with my family and am generally becoming distant. I'm terrified my son although just 18 who is still very much my little boy is going to be convicted for something he hasnt done and all of our lives will be over.

I'm extremely lucky that my husband and i run our own business as i dont know if i would maintain a job if i worked for somebody else.

[Denise]

I aoologise for my short replies but I'm at work and using my mobile

I know it's a long thread but have you read everything ?
There's so much good advice on there from the smashing people on this forum

Police need to look through all her notes
Keep coming on the forum, it saved me from actually losing the plot although I came close to it
You more info, guidance and virtual hugs you get from here will carry you through this heart wrenching ordeal

We have all been affected by false accusations here and will do everything we can to help

Together, whatever your outcome , we will be here for you xxxx

[Saffron]

Hi J&PVTHW. I am sorry you had to find us, but glad that you did.

I'm sorry to tell you that the accuser's bad behaviour at the time of the alleged "rape" and since would not count in your favour in a court of law. In fact it would be used by the prosecution as an example of her "trauma".
She's misbehaving at school? Trauma of the "rape".
She's been abusive to your family? Trauma of the "rape"
She's been sleeping around? Trauma of the "rape"
She drinks too much/takes drugs? Trauma of the "rape"
Unfortunately genuine survivors of rape react to the very real horror in such varied ways....some become promiscuous; others withdraw from society; some develop mental health issues/drug or alcohol addiction as a result.
Therefore the bad behaviour of a false accuser is usually inadmissible as evidence (and her/his previous sexual history is almost always inadmissible) because real survivors tend to react in such different ways.

If the accuser has a proven track record of appalling behaviour before the alleged rape this could be useful. I would ask your sol to apply for disclosure of medical/school records of the accuser. This is difficult but not impossible - it is almost certain to be refused in the first instance, but your sol can argue against this.

I am sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear. However I was exactly like you - no previous dealings with Plod or the justice system....I genuinely thought the truth would be known and I was badly let down by 12 of my so-called "Peers". It's better to be prepared.

Please keep coming back. The support you get here is invaluable.

[Denise]

Saffron

Members need replies like that sometimes because as you know going through this knowing we are innocent we don't always see the bigger picture

We are all naive when we join but collectively we begin to understand the system better and how actions and words from false accusations can be twisted xx

[Casehardened]

The police are not interested in speaking to my daughter who is 14 years old who has lived with my son all her and his life.

I do feel that if they were certain the allegation was true they would have at least asked your daughter if anything had happened to her.

Obviously they are not really interested in collecting evidence for the defence so there would be no point in interviewing your daughter unless she could corroborate the allegation.

[Faith]

What casehardened has said is exactly why you should avoid giving any evidence you find to the police.
If you want to give the police anything, run it by an experienced, specialist solicitor first.

Sometimes, you will get police who genuinely want to find the truth, but generally, they are out for a conviction to hit their targets. Which is why they are only snooping for anything AGAINST the accused. Anything they find that is in favour, they can use to change the goalposts.
Many cases here have had police return to the accuser with evidence of an alibi and she has just changed the dates on her statement, citing her bad memory to, you guessed it, the trauma.

Don't get caught out by the system. If you're aware that it's against you, then you have more chance of beating it.

[J&PVTHW]

Thank you all again for your advice, i'm so glad that i found this site.
As i said i have had no dealings with the police and presumed wrongly that they would and should want to know the 'truth' i'm now beginning to see that this is not the case.