Are police obliged to tell you if the accuser has accused previously?

[teasbeas]

I served 3 years for a rape I did not commit, and have recently been released on parole. I have recently been contacted by someone who is claiming that my accuser had reported him for rape before she accused me. His case never went to court. At the time of my trial I was told by my solicitor (who I assumed checked with the police) that the girl had no history of accusations. If what this man is telling me turns out to be true can I get a re-trial?

[Casehardened]

Hi,

I am sorry to hear of your conviction on a false accusation and can understand why you want to clear your name. In your position you can't have a retrial as this only usually happens when the jury can't agree on a verdict or the trial is stopped for some reason; however you could appeal the conviction.

As to whether the previous undisclosed accusation is grounds for an appeal really depends if it were a false accusation (but even then your barrister would have had to apply for leave to mention it in court which may or may not have been granted by the judge, so is not a guaranteed reason)

A lot therefore hinges on the reasons why the other accusation didn't go to trial; did she admit she had lied? If she continued to maintain that she had been raped but the CPS felt there wasn't sufficient evidence in that instance to make a conviction likely then it would be less relevant as there is no [legal] reason why a woman could not be raped on two separate occasions (though I completely agree and sympathise with your reasoning as the accusation against you was false)