My son has been falsely accused of rape and I don't know what to do

[Cat]

My son was arrested last Saturday 10th Aug and held for 27 hours. He has given a statement to police with duty solicitor present. He had consensual sex but now the girl is saying he raped her. Already our lives have been turned upside down and we are only a week into this. He has not been charged but has a 'pre charge' bail and does not have to report back until 2nd week of October. Duty solicitor has said he believes my son and that he has given a good account of himself and he just has to wait and the case will PROBABLY be dropped. Do I trust this solicitor's judgment or do we get someone else to represent him? Will this arrest show on DBS?

I've never used an online forum before and am unsure of the protocols.

Any advice welcome.

[whatsgoingon?]

Hello CAT - welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you find yourself on here, but you're in the right place.

If you look under "General Information' there are 'stickies' which give you precise information on specific things. One you should look at is 'specialised solicitors'. Although the duty sol may have been really nice etc, I can't emphasis enough just how important it is , should your son be charged, to be defended by someone who has a proven track record in this field. Theoritically , your son won't need a solicitor until he's charged, but having someone specialised lined up and making preliminary contact will gain you time and energy. There are some excellent ones who still work under legal-aid should your son be entitled to it.

As far as your son's detention goes, I thought 24 hours was the limit, in any case, your son is entitled to (I recommend you do) ask for his detention record at the police station. You can then get your solcitor to check it.

From now on , know that the police are not your friends. If you do have any contact with them , do not divulge anything, do not be drawn into conversation. Yes/no is sufficient - should they want another interview, then it should only be in the presence of the solicitor.

Your son should write down exactly what happened that night and the extent of his dealings with this girl. He should also save any text , FB or email conversations onto USB key and keep in a safe place. If it's his word against hers, then any evidence he can bring up may be useful should it go further.

It's hard to say what's going to happen next. The Duty Solicitor in my son's case also said that it wouldn't go anywhere but 15 months later he was at crown court, so.... I'd just discount it. It's a 'victim' based system - the police want to prosecute and will try as hard as possible to meet their targets.
You're probably thinking WTH??? Just as we were. It's a horrible, horrible ordeal. Be prepared for them to extend the bail, or re-bail. It could be 6 months or more before you really hear anything. Let's hope and pray he'll be lucky and be told no further action will be taken (NFA).

As far as the DBA check - I believe not unless he's charged for an extended one and otherwise not unless he's charged , tried and found guilty.

Sorry, you probably didn't want to hear any of this. You and your son will have to be very strong but keep it all in it's place -try to carry on as normal as possible. This could be a long difficult ordeal. You'll need to have courage and be prepared for a real roll-a-coaster ride.


Take care xxx

[frightened spouse]

Hi Cat

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear what your son and family are going through. You have been given excellent advice by WGO though I can appreciate the shock of the FA and the realities of how these cases are dealt with is truly frightening.

No one can give any real assurance on how this will pan out for your son, trying to carry on with normal family life with such uncertainty hanging over you is immensely challenging. Your son's story is very common on this forum, but don't lose heart there are many that have received NFA (no further action) or not guilty verdicts should it go to court (which I sincerely hope it doesn't).

Best wishes

Frightened Spouse

[Boys don't cry]

Hi Cat.

You have been given excellent advice by WGO who wrote:

Your son should write down exactly what happened that night and the extent of his dealings with this girl.

Your son must write down every single detail while it is fresh in his mind :

He might remember something important during the night or while outside:
Tell him to keep a notepad constantly with him.

Who is she?
What and how was their relationship?
What was their conversation before and after?
Are there any witnesses before and after?

Is there any motivation from her to claim for rape?
Argument, revenge,...

Details are extremely important and he mustn't forget anything.

He must be able to prove that she was consenting and if not sure at least that he personally believe she was.

Normally the time your son should have been detained "in" the police station as stated shouldn't have been exceeding 24hours unless there has been an authorised extension (12 hours maximum) from a superintendent or a rank above.

You should ask your solicitor if it was the case.

It could be 6 months or more before you hear anything but it might be less as well.(WGO )

Take care.

[myhome]

Hi and welcome to the forum though sorry you had to find us. WGO, FS and BDC have given great advice....anything at all you find - even if you can't see its relevance must be kept - you never know what you defence team - should it go that far - can make of what you find....

Your son will need a great deal of support BUT - so will you. You cannot do this on your own - the emotional strain cannot be underestimated. You may like to visit your GP - as might your son. You should find him/her a great support....Keep strong.....MH

[is there justice?]

Hi and sorry to welcome you here

The advice you have been given is excellent. The shock that you are experiencing is like nothing you can imagine but it will ease off a bit after a few weeks.
The process rocks your whole belief system as you find out the police are not impartial which adds to the shock.
Anything that springs to mind or is written on fb, texts, emails etc should be saved only for your solicitor NOT the police.

As a parent you probably feel a bit useless now as you can't fix this quickly but the support you will give your son and your belief in him is priceless. Stay strong together

[Cat]

He's been charged now. Can't believe it, thought it would be NFA

[tigertiger]

He's been charged now. Can't believe it, thought it would be NFA

Have you got an experienced specialist solicitor lined up to take this on now?

Time for the fight to begin, Theres a chance a specialist could even get this stopped before it reaches court, dont lose hope.

[Cat]

No it's been in the hands of the duty solicitor. My son is an adult - 21 & thinks the duty solicitor is a decent person. We have no experience of legal matters. It's on legal aid.

[tigertiger]

I strongly recommend he uses a solicitor with a proven track record of defending false sexual allegations as he wil only get one shot at this. These cases balance on a knife edge and needs someone who knows exactly how to handle them. There are a number of specialists who will take the case on a legal aid basis so you dont need to worry about the costs of them. If his current solicitor is experienced in this field then great, if not id really urge him / if not insist he gets a specialist on board.

Theres a specialist solicitors thread on here with contact details of your nearest one.

[tigertiger]

Here is the specialists list

http://www.daftmoo.org.uk/mooforum/s...ght=specialist

[Cat]

Thanks for your help.

I had found the specialist solicitor thread but there are not many named there and none in our area - South Wales.

I don't know how to find out if the duty solicitor my son has used so far has a good reputation or how good the barrister he has suggested using is. I found a link to ffops.org.uk so may pay them a visit to see if they can advise on who is best to use.

[tiger mum]

Sorry and scared your son has been charged

Hi Cat - you were posting before me and I haven't read your thread before. I'm so sorry your son has been charged - people keep telling me the police investigation will come to nothing with my son, but until that is confirmed I continue to worry day and night. By complete luck rather than judgement I managed to get a specialist solicitor to attend the police station when my son was first interviewed. He managed to persuade the police not to arrest him, therefore the indignity of putting him in a cell and processing him like a criminal was avoided. Although I had to pay for his attendance up front, I would have paid him triple the amount just to come and support us. IF (big IF which in my head is getting bigger by the day) the CPS decide NFA at least he has no record of an arrest.

My son's solicitor is Tim Walker of Sonn, Macmillan Walker 020 7377 8889- they are based in London but travelled 300 mile round trip to support us so I guess they will work nationally. Because the police are still trying to find some evidence to take to the CPS we are very early on in the process, but having read many blogs on this site and doing loads of research I'm much better informed and am so relieved Tim attended.

So far so good with this firm, I'm not sure about the legal aid situation - however my is a school boy and not old enough to work, I'd have thought that qualifies him for legal aid! However if he is charged I think to move from Tim would be a very difficult decision for both of us and I'm prepared to find the money rather than risk a poor defence. As we are in the lovely limbo land of awaiting the police to make a move I'm going to cross that bridge when we come to it....... I've passed Tim's number on another on this site, I asked I could and he said he is always happy to help anyone in our situation. Good luck and keep posting. Hope the stress of hearing this has progressed to a charge is bearable x

[Dave]

A little research has thrown up these Fonseca and Partners Solicitors Telephone: 01873 857114

Worth a try?

[babygal2014]

Hi Im in Cardiff and I would recommend using Mcsorley Lewis Solicitors and they accept Legal Aid. They are amazing they are specialised criminal solicitors in sexual offences and have done a brilliant job so far with our case. They have over 30 years experience and they are fantastic. www.mcsorleylewis.co.uk/