Nephew accused of Rape

[royzor]

He has been today to enter his Plea (Not Guilty) and aparently the Judge has done a bargain with him as their is no evidence she had been Raped. He has said he will drop the Rape charge if he accepts a GBH charge.
The thing is he was remanded in December and the Judge has told him if he accepts he will get 5yrs but only do 2 1/2 less remand time. If it goes to trial & is found Guilty he is looking at 12 yrs .
I am worried that he will accept it as he has had such a bad time with this accusation, and his partner losing their baby daughter 2 wks before her due date. They stopped him from attending the birth & although they took him to the hospital after his partner gave birth they wouldn't allow him to hold his baby. This is why I have a feeling he will accept so he can get it over & done with.

My Question is, the fact they are bargaining with him are they are panicing knowing they have nothing on him?

Thanks in advance xx R xx

[Saffron]

My gut says they are trying their luck.
Drop a rape charge in favour of GBH? Hobson's choice.
I would urge your nephew NOT to take a plea bargain. PBs are usually offered if the CPS realise that they are unlikely to get a conviction on the original charge....and any conviction is better than none, in their eyes!

[Faith]

I agree with Saffron

If they were sure of a conviction, there is no way they would offer a plea bargain. They will be working on the mentality that any conviction is better than none.

I would urge your nephew not to even consider it. Could he live with himself knowing that he had admitted to something he had never done. Bear in mind what people might think...well he admitted to the GBH...he's most certainly capable of rape then. That will follow him around for the rest of his life.

Someone once said to me: I'd rather serve 12 years protesting my innocence than admit to something I didn't do.

No one can promise that the trial will go his way...but I would be suggesting that he takes a chance on justice. He may be out of prison in under three years for admitting to GBH (and that IS a maybe...theres nothing stopping the slinging a longer sentence at him) but he will have a life sentence round his neck as he carries the burden of admitting guilt when he is innocent.

[LS]

If he pleads guilty to GBH, what's to stop the cps coming back at him later AND doing him for rape, using the GBH guilty plea as an admittal.

I was offered a plea bargain - plead guilty to the lesser charge and we'll drop the biggest one.
I told them where to stick it, and how far up.

The moment you plead guilty you're sunk for ever more, if you're innocent.

[royzor]

Thanx Guys, I suspected lack of evidence was the reason. I will drum it into him not to accept the PB I just hope he Listens.

LS Can they try & trick him by doing this? I thought once you had the charges dropped against You they couldn't charge You again?

R

[mia]

I have to say i totally agree too....My fiancee has been told that if he pleads gulity he would only face 5 to 6 yrs, yet if he pleads not guilty and is found guilty, he will face 10 years !!!!!!!! My fiancee, although crushed by all the accusations has told the solicitor that he would rather serve 10 years knowing that he is innocent, than make a deal.............x

[Rights Fighter]

One of my ladies has a young son who was told by his own barrister that he would definitely be found guilty and he was looking at a long sentence. He was tempted to accept a plea but he was strongly advised not to do that as otherwise he would be a self-confessed rapist.

He was found NOT guilty at trial despite what his excuse of a barrister told him.

Best not to be tempted to become a self-confessed rapist or paedophile.

[mia]

So there is hope !!!!! X

[Boys don't cry]

I went to court and it is the barrister's job to tell you that if you plead "guilty"you will serve less time in jail.
Why should I plead guilty for something I haven't done?
I would never accept any deal.
Maybe I am wrong but for me it has always been the same.
All is black or all is white.
I'd rather risk 12 years or be "not guilty" than having a bargain and still go to jail.
Best of luck for your nephew.

[lawlessone2009]

So you spend months talking with your defence team and pleading innocence and they go throw a plea bargain at you and you accept...........

I would see the point if you were guilty and had spent months on remand awaiting trial and it was merely a case of sorting out mitigation but to go through all that and then bend over to a threat................ NO!

If there is not enough evidence, after all this time, to substantiate a rape charge then do they have enough evidence to convict on the GBH?

Do they have a case at all????

One thing I would focus on which is often over looked. Appearing from custody instantly makes you guilty in the eyes of some jurors. The defence team needs to make clear what the custody is for without appearing to add strength to the prosecutions case.

Only guilty people go to jail you see.............. Er, I don't but some of those that have never been involved with the law see it that way......

[Faith]

So there is hope !!!!! X

Always!