son falsely accused of rape and now charged

[mumneedinghelp]

Just received a letter from the solicitor confirming that the file of evidence was not received on 13th June as I suspected and there has been no correspondence from the CPS. He has enclosed a copy of the letter he has sent to the Crown Court, asking for a 7 day extension to submit the plea and witness form and suggesting that the plea hearing scheduled for July 5th may need to be varied and a copy of the letter to the CPS, which he sent by post and fax, asking them to confirm by return the reasons for delay and anticipated date of delivery.

I find this totally disgusting and don't understand why it is taking so long. If they had evidence to charge my son then why is there a delay? Has this happened to anyone else?

[Don'tbelieveit!]

Hi MNH

We are in the same situation. 7 months down the line of having to live with this sword over my hubby's head, no charge, no arrest, no evidence and no statements...

It's tough....

[myhome]

Yup - me too - 7 months no arrest, charge or contact from plod.
However - I do wonder why deadlines are set by the courts and then ignored by prosecution who then keep getting extensions.....I wonder if this comes under "Abuse of Process"? I don't know but some other members here would....

Keep strong.......

[whatsgoingon?]

Just received a letter from the solicitor confirming that the file of evidence was not received on 13th June as I suspected and there has been no correspondence from the CPS. He has enclosed a copy of the letter he has sent to the Crown Court, asking for a 7 day extension to submit the plea and witness form and suggesting that the plea hearing scheduled for July 5th may need to be varied and a copy of the letter to the CPS, which he sent by post and fax, asking them to confirm by return the reasons for delay and anticipated date of delivery.

I find this totally disgusting and don't understand why it is taking so long. If they had evidence to charge my son then why is there a delay? Has this happened to anyone else?

Unless I'm mistaken he has been charged? You're right , it's a horrible system where the accused is the very last person they take into consideration. It sounds like your solicitor's on the ball, though which must be reassuring.

Has the date for the plea hearing now been set? In case you were wondering, my son's trial was 4 months from the plea-hearing (I think that's about average, but it might depend on where you live and the workload that court has.)

I hope you're both Ok and that you have some outlet and support to help you be supportive!
Take care

[mumneedinghelp]

Bad day today. I broke down in tears in front of my son. Just spent an hour posting and lost it all. It was autosaving and when I came to submit it asked me to log in again as it usually does but then just hung. Can't type it all up again, tears rolling down cheeks. Going to bed. Tomorrow will be a better day.

[mrtony1234]

i too falsely accused of rape

Im sorry to hear the situation your family finds itself in. I now 3 months ago was accused and arrested on rape.worst 3 months of my life. Id met this girl few times and had sex most occasions. Things began to fizzle out and i stopped seeing her. 2 month later she began to text again. Me being a guy went round. Again we had sex, dressed and watched tv for a bit. I gave her a hug leaving and said speak soon. Next i know 2 days later police in my bedroom at 2 in morning accusing me of anally and orally raping her. Took my phone,pc,and any other device i had which could access net. No one would tell me at police station whom had accused me. I had swabs taken from everywhere imaginable. She says sex was consensual then i raped her. 2 days before this i had recieved manny explicit photos and mssages from her. This proved to be my way out. At the time i had not realised but since found out it was planned to get back at me for leaving her. After 3 months of hell finally came back with nfa! No further action. Which i think is utter ****! Saying she decided cant go through with a trial because of messages sent. I think there should be some something done to these girls who falsely accuse . Seems so unfair that on their say so it all must be true. Guilty untill proven innocent it is . I believe if not for my saved messages i would be facing a very different future . I hope all went well for you and famoly. Thought id share my own nightmare x

[Rights Fighter]

Bad day today. I broke down in tears in front of my son. Just spent an hour posting and lost it all. It was autosaving and when I came to submit it asked me to log in again as it usually does but then just hung. Can't type it all up again, tears rolling down cheeks. Going to bed. Tomorrow will be a better day.

Hon, write your post in Word first then copy and paste it into the text box on here. (HUGS)

[mumneedinghelp]

Hon, write your post in Word first then copy and paste it into the text box on here. (HUGS)

yes, I normally do that but not thinking straight yesterday. We received the prosecution case evidence on Monday and I was going through it in detail yesterday and I just got emotional. We should have received it on June 3rd but prosecution got a 7 day extension until June 13th and then it was delayed again. The accuser's mother made a statement on June 7th. Lying obviously runs in the family because although she wasn't a witness to what happened she added accusations obviously to make my son look even worse then she stated how her daughter had lost loads of weight, was depressed and couldn't sleep. Facebook pictures do not back up the weight loss or being depressed. She has a new house, is in a relationship and looks happy while we have all this to go through.

The plea hearing is next Friday and I think it is now hitting me hard. It doesn't help that my son is just letting it wash all over him at the moment and I have to force him to sit down and read the documents. He is on legal aid and I just feel we will have to do a lot of work or rather me.. We haven't even met the barrister yet. The solicitor said it was proving difficult to arrange a meeting before the plea because of the delays but he will speak to my son on the day of the plea hearing.

[is there justice?]

MNH

It's hard to believe how easily people lie even when the consequences are potentially disastrous. Hub's FA has 2 lying 'corroborators'.
Reading the lies is so disturbing and makes it seem hopeless but at least you know where they are coming from now and can start to prepare to drive a coach and horses through it.
Hub hasn't even read it all yet, it is so upsetting and says he won't until July so maybe your son feels the same.
Make sure you are getting some support too

[whatsgoingon?]

Hi MNH - sorry you're feeling so low. In aswer to your post on another thread:

'Her lies are bad enough but her mother has recently made a statement. She is not a witness to the alleged rape but her account of what was supposed to have happened is worse than her daughters and then she states how depressed her daughter is, how often she cries and can't sleep.'

As I understand it (I hope some-one will put me right if I'm wrong) 'evidence ' on which a verdict can be based, can only be presented in court under oathe. The alleged victim's statement is considered to be evidence but not that of others unless they are prepared to come to court to testify.

This may well mean that the alleged victim's mother's going to be a witness in court, in which case she's going to have to stand by her statement, under oath and cross-examination. She is a brave woman! If she doesn't appear in court to back up her statement, questions will be asked and it may be that it's not given the weight it seems to have right now.

I haven't followed your entire thread - has your son got a specialised legal team defending him?

Please, please keep your spirits up. I know it's really hard and gruelling, I've been there, it saps that vital energy you need to fight, and yet you need to fight.

Keep well.

[mumneedinghelp]

The solicitor has told us exactly what you have said about her mother's statement but it still hurts seeing what lies she has put.
We have never had any dealings with the legal system and I just don't know what to expect.
From what we have seen so far I have listed inconsistencies in her statement. I am assuming that once everything has been released the solicitor and barrister will then work on the defence case and they will pick up on the inconsistencies and discuss the defence case with my son.

[J&PVTHW]

Hello MNH
I have just replied to your PM x
with regards to the mothers statement whereby she states that her daughter is unhappy do you have the pictures of the daughter showing her in a very different light i.e happy and healthy? If you do this could correct a false impression (RF taught me this) of the witness if she indeed comes to court and states the above.
It is not unusual for the CPS to drag their feet on disclosure, there are several members myself included who are much further down the line who are still struggling to get disclosure. If your solicitor is good he will push and push for it, eventually taking the bull by the horns and requesting the info at court prior to trial if need be.

I know only too well what a rollercoaster of emotions as a mum you experience through this dreadful time, you are the hub and the strength for your son and fight you will do for your darling son.
Your doing well, dont loose faith and keep up the fight.
Speak soon

[Rights Fighter]

You are learning well!

After my first appeal succeeded the barrister went on to represent our man in family court so he could get contact with his son. It was the arguments over the son that caused his ex to 'persuade' her daughters (from a previous relationship) to lie.

In family court the mother and elder daughter claimed that they rarely went out, only if they had to, to go shopping etc because they feared our man would be skulking in the bushes ready to attack them. They claimed they were scared to go out and then scared to come back in case he was waiting for them.

They claimed they had no social life and were scared to visit their neighbours in case our man came and made a scene. They said they had not been away from the area for ages.

I sent screenshots to the barrister (not copies/pastes and printouts) of them on Facebook at BBQs in their neighbours' gardens, in their own garden, on holiday at Camber Sands, in pubs, having a wonderful time.

The screenshots on their own cannot just be put before the jury without proper explanation. During the course of the trial if any of the complainants or their supporters claim that they have been living dreary lives, scared to go out, no social life, etc etc, defence counsel can then ask to make a point of law, where the jury will be asked to leave, so she s/he then apply for evidence to be admitted to 'correct a false impression'.

This won't always be accepted as it would really depend on the evidence itself. If it relates to the allegations or reliability of the main thrust of the complainants' evidence, then yes it should probably be heard/seen, but if it's something like 'I wore a green nightie that night' and somebody who was present says it was yellow, for instance, is not likely to be considered to be vital to the defence.

[mumneedinghelp]

Thanks Rights Fighter for the info. I have already got a collection of screenshots but I will get busy taking a lot more. The accuser constantly uploads pictures from her mobile and there are lots at the seaside and other days out.

[cantgiveup]

Sorry to but in on your thread...thanks Rights Fighter, our accuser is telling everyone who will listen of how bad things are for her (in my opinion attention seeking and self preservation) but FB post etc paint a different picture, I have been screenshotting but was not sure if it would ever be considered as evidence. It is reassuring that it might be.

Mumneedinghelp - It is so hard to listen to people saying these awful things about a loved one, we just have to keep remembering we know the truth and have to keep believing it will come out.