Husband accused of rape

[So angry and hurt]

So hurt and angry

Just read through this sounds to me like another cock up, but I think it's good for you ,the more inconsistency they find in the case the weaker it is and your f/a sounds to me like one big inconsistency
Easy to say but please don't worry too much ,they have a long way to go, they have to prove guilt you do not have to prove innocence xx

[Angry and frightened]

Thank you, So angry and hurt ( sorry, brain like a sieve, can never remember which way round it goes!)!

Well, a small update, as such. I dont know if I mentioned this in a previous post or not, but my son put the key in the front door and the key broke off in the lock. We have since not been able to use the front door. Some people have been round to have a look and see what they can do, but to no avail so far. I KNOW that my husband could sort it, but , of course, he is not allowed here. We are now using the side entrance, into the back garden, up a long narrow entry. The problem is, this was blocked by all THEIR junk. Broken fence posts, a car wheel, skateboard, a very long, wide, thick plank, studded with nails, etc. I have continually phoned the Housing Association about it, been promised phone calls back (received NONE), e mailed them, saying this was a health and safety hazard, fire hazard, my 3 little grand kids, 2 dogs and my son (apart from any other visitors) have to use this passageway. If I didnt get any action, I would take it higher and further. Still no response.
Well, this morning, I got a phone call off the DC in charge of the case, asking me about the incident that occurred last night when the police were called. I didnt know anything about this. Apparently, "somebody" had thrown all of this "junk" into their front garden. She asked "was it me or my son"? It was, to my knowledge, neither of us. I could NEVER lift that plank and throw it anywhere! Neither could my son, in my opinion. I said that I thought the HA had got in touch and told them to move it, as they had been warned about it before. She said, no, they hadnt, it MUST have been me or my son. I insisted it wasnt me or my son ( must have been the Christmas fairies, didnt say that of course)! She then went into witness intimidation, etc, I think I gave as good as I got, had quite a long conversation, the only interesting thing she had to say was that this would take another 6 months to get to crown court - is it right? Will it take that long? She did say, unless my husband pleaded guilty, of course, it wouldnt take so long , as if! I did say to her that I hoped they wouldnt be putting the stuff back up the alleyway, and she said she would phone them and tell them not to.Lo and behold, a few mins later they were seen getting off their lazy backsides and reluctantly [another story) moving it. Result!
Another positive, not only can me and my family move freely up and down this entry, I won 2nd prize in the local supermarkets Christmas draw (a 12lb fresh turkey] - I had only bought 1 the day before! We also bumped into my other direct next door neighbour, picking up the prize, she was almost in tears about what is going on. She hugged both of us and said her husband had said "SHE" has always been a liar. She said we have lived nxt door to each other for years, been neighbours since we were little kids and never had any problems - "why cant the HA do everybody a favour and move THEM!" Why not indeed! Also, my lovely daughter and hubby arrived today, No 1 son to arrive Xmas Eve. Life would be so great if only my husband could be here too! Maybe next year? Sorry to moan on, Im not the only one wth problems, I know. x

[myhome]

Sorry to moan on, Im not the only one wth problems, I know. x

I don't think you're "moaning" at all......sounds like you're going through hell in many ways......so here's

[lonley place]

Hi AF ..Hang in there ...enjoy xmas best you can, sending you the best of wishes. LP

[Angry and frightened]

Hello all! Just wonderin if anyone can help at all. We have an appointment with the solicitor next Wednesday. Have a few questions we want to ask, but what are the main questions we should be asking? I know we should be askng for the "unused bundle", but what else? CDs? DVDs? Please help!

[Angry and frightened]

Hello all! Just wonderin if anyone can help at all. We have an appointment with the solicitor next Wednesday. Have a few questions we want to ask, but what are the main questions we should be asking? I know we should be askng for the "unused bundle", but what else? CDs? DVDs? Please help!

Hello? Please someone, give me some advice! Thank you!

[lawlessone2009]

Hello? Please someone, give me some advice! Thank you!

You shouldn't really need to ask for anything, a good solicitor will already have it all ready for your viewing.

I would most likely recommend letting them give you their info and bring you up to speed on any developments. When they've done their bit you can then ask for clarification or where 'x' is and if it will be made available. You can also seek their opinions on what they 'feel' regarding the case.

It's difficult to give you an exacting answer of what you should be asking for. The 'unused pile' can be invaluable and is always something that should be enquired about, beyond that your solicitor should know what should be there and also what isn't. Suppose you're best bet is to play it by ear and then ask questions.

[Casehardened]

You could make a list of potential defence witnesses (from your own knowledge of your case) and ensure that your solicitor is aware of all of these.

If he doesn't want to use any of these you could then discuss the reasons why not (these may be perfectly valid)

[Angry and frightened]

[Thank you both very much

[Angry and frightened]

Hi everyone - me again. Saw the sol last week and have been depressed ever since. I am now convinced my husband is going to be found guilty of attempted rape - nothing is going his way.
The sol has not yet had HER tapes or transcripts back yet so couldnt go into too much. Also, I was not allowed in the office for much of the discussion as I gave an interview to the police, so they could call me as a witness and was therefore not allowed to be present.
What we did find out (some we already knew) was that none of my husbands semen or private parts dna was found in her, on her, on her sofa or the throw on the sofa. None of hers was on him either, everything came back negative. Apart from a small patch of her "cellular" dna was found on his boxer shorts. The forensic expert at the CPS insists this proves he had either vaginal or oral intercourse with her (WHAT? oral has never been mentioned before!) We dont understand this, the sol says it makes no sense. He had loads of dna taken from his penis etc and it all came back negative. This cellular dna apparently is skin and can come from anywhere on the body, so why are they saying it has to come from either her vagina or her mouth, but not from under her armpits for example, from where he frogmarched her home. Semen was found in her pants, but it was not my husbands or her husbands, but they dont know whose it is! Can they insist she tells them whose it is? Can we ask to have a couple of "suspects" DNA d? Hubby says no point, but I think if they could prove who it was they might be able to shed some light on times, her emotions etc
CPS say there doesnt have to be semen present for intercourse to have taken place - obviously! - but for semen to be present intercourse must have taken place, but with whom! Even if he had attempted to rape her ( and she said he had penetrated her, ejaculated into her etc) his dna MUST have been on her or her sofa, surely!
Sol says he will get his own forensic experts to look at it, as this seems to be only evidence they have, but they must be wrong as this never happened. Also , her father in law is saying, my husbands semen was found in her knickers, so she must have told them this, someone is in for a big shock!
Also, found out, she phoned her mother in law to tell her she had been raped, dont know yet, who phoned the police, but her mother in law was not interviewed til 3 months later! No wonder things take so long! Her mother in law also told police "she was drunk, b ut I have seen her a lot worse" and "Its not unusual for HER to get very drunk"!Thats not going to look very good in court, surely, especially as she has a 6 yr old, who was there that night.)
Also, the sol is going to speak to 3 of the neighbours who have crucial evidence (in our opinion), he said he could quite believe the police had not interviewed them before, as he has 25 years experience with this police force and the local cps.
Does anyone have any knowledge of forensics, dna? to maybe give an opinion on where this is going? Guess we can only wait to see what her tapes say and what our forensic experts have to say. Sol also said, court case could be as far away as end of the year! Dont think I can take much more of this.

[IvorBinWronged]

Stop it!

Why not try convince yourself that they'll NEVER believe that drunken loudmouth tart and your barrister will test her a new ars*h**email in court.

If it's a year away, sublet (I think you can short term) and all move in together again at another location. You deserve a bit of cohesion.

An half-decent jury will be horrified at her antics.

[Angry and frightened]

Thanks for your reply, Ivor. We are working on getting somewhere together. I also think a jury SHOULD be horrified at her antics,( her husband left her at one time because of them), but how much can be used against her in court? Believe me, we have loads, but they will probably say - even drunken, loud mouth tarts can be raped! Will have to leave that up to the solicitor, I suppose. Just dont feel very confident at the moment!

[Angry and frightened]

Right Solicitor?

Hello everybody.
My husband decided to go with the duty sol, now that he has been charged. I am not happy with this. He told hubby that he was experienced with sexual offence cases, giving him an example. Now, I can understand him not replying to my husbands phone calls , when he was only paid to represent him at interviews. But as my husband was unemployed at the time, the sol told him he wouldnt have to pay anything. According to RF, my income should have been taken into consideration, even tho we are separated by this FA, and the fact that we own our own home (still mortgaged). He told hubby that if he didnt report any changes in circumstances, he would have to pay £900 a month, dont know where he got these figures from!
Well, my husband now has a job ( although only a 4 month contract at mo), and has had to move. He was sleeping on sofa at my sisters house, but with the shifts he has to work, this was not feasable. He has tried to contact the sol to tell him about this job and the change of bail address, but has not been able to get hold of him. His secretary says, ring at 9am, as he is in court after, but he just keeps getting "this office is now closed". Couldnt phone last week, as he was at his new job, not allowed mobiles at work. Now he is on afternoons, cant phone in afternoons. He has moved, but if FA finds he has moved without notifying anyone, he will be in trouble, even tho it is further away from her.
Dont know how to find a better sol, have tried googling for local area, but cant find anyone. One of the cities that the case is likely to be heard in is 23 miles from Birmingham, the other is 54 miles from Birmingham, we are about 40 miles away. Is this too far to get a legal aid solicitor, as must be a better choice from Birmingham. is it possible to change solicitors now? This sol has as yet done nothing for him. He may be waiting for the FAs statements back from the prosecution, but surely this bail address issue is important? Is it his job to deal with it or should hubby contact OIC? As he has already moved, this may be a problem. The sol told us he was going to contact possible witness's a few weeks ago, but we know he has not yet done so. His next appearance at CC is April for CPM?, we have had no word of a barrister. Should we be worried, or are we trying to rush things? Would be very grateful for any help on the above questionsxx

[whatsgoingon?]

Hi Angry and Frightened,
I can't answer all of this but if you want to change solicitors, there's no time like the present and the sooner the better. From what you say, it seems Birmingham's a good place to look, most barristers would be prepared to do a little travelling I would have thought.
You do need to have reasons for changing, such as incompetency, break-down of trust or communication. I believe there might be a thread relating to this (sticky?). Your first move is to draw up a list of reasons you wish to change then choose another sol and get in touch with him/her. He'll/she'll then tell you how to proceed (there's a set letter you have to write). If the first sol disputes it, your husband may have to go infront of the judge to argue his case.
This is not automatic, so the more reasons you can put down the better.
Best of luck