18 year old son falsely accused, now suspended from Uni

[Busterboo]

Hi , I am hoping for some help and advice. My son has been falsely accused if rape after drink fueled evening at the students union where he and another boy went home with a girl , my son denies that he had intercourse with her, but that the other boy did and then she took fright and ran off. He spent 20 hours in custody and has now been released on police bail. He has been suspended from Uni and is not allowed back on to campus, he can not make contact with his lecturers , he is missing an exam on Wednesday, also on his course he has to have police check carried out as there is contact with children as part of his course. Uni is 450 miles away from us, but he is now home.

So I need advice, what happens with this , has any one else got any similar experience, how long will the Uni suspend him for, what effect does this have on CRB checks, advice on time lines. Is there anything I can do???

As many of you will know this is a living hell, we are in state of limbo, he may lose his place at Uni and £8500 of Uni fees to contend with. Life potentially ruined by daft wee girl.

[grababadger]

Hi,

Give this a read.

http://www.daftmoo.org.uk/mooforum/s...at-happens-now

I find myself in a similar hell, I have just had my bail extended by another 3 months. It's amazing how one person can ruin someone's else's life on the whim of a false statement. The police have no choice but to investigate, there is nothing you can do now but prepare and be box clever about how you move forward.

In my case, what I have done so far is:

Write everything down that happened that night, including events before and after the alleged incident. You have to become your own investigator, so you can find holes in her story 'IF' it later goes to court. As far as I can see the police are only interested in 'EVIDENCE' plus motive.

Make sure you keep him active and remember he has not been charged, it is merely an accusation that has yet to be proved via evidence. If he has not had sex with her then it will be impossible to prove unless she has had an examination. Maybe hope she has so It can be proved he did not had sex with her.

You have to somehow accept what has happened and deal with it, I know it is extremely difficult but you have to be strong and move forward in a way that makes the situation bearable. Accept that life is kind of on hold but It wont be like this forever.

[grababadger]

As for the University Fee's, perhaps there is a system whereby they can re-reimburse you or at least not charge him when he returns to uni. If it is later proven that he is innocent It would be grossly unfair that he would have to re-pay those fee's.

[Busterboo]

Thanks for the thread , will take advice and get my son to write everything down . Hopefully it will all go away.

Does anyone know if he gets NFA, does the arrest stay on his record for CRB for working with children, his degree is in coaching and requires lots community work with schools?

[grababadger]

[http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question...4010234AAavIrJ

[can it get worse]

Very sorry to hear of your son's predicament.

Many people on here are in a better position than me to advice but as previously advised......he must write EVERYTHING down.

However do not disclose this to police until he has discussed this further with his sol.

It is also of great importance to get a sol specialised in this area.

If the accuser reported it to police soon after the alleged event, she would have been tested for DNA evidence.

Unfortunately, this is a terrible waiting game, which is a daily hell for the accused and their family.

Keep up your strength.

[whatsgoingon?]

Hi Busterboo, welcome to the forum. My son found himself in a very similar position and went to court this time last year (found not guilty). I empathise with what you're going through.
Do you know if the other guy was also arrested? The police seem to love to think they have uncovered an organized 'gang-based' sex crime.

His Uni seem to have been particularly mean - after all, you are innocent until proven guilty. I suppose this is because he has to deal with children? All the same, he is entitled to know exactly what his position is as far as his course goes, because then he can make an informed decision.

As far as the fees go , he should get onto the phone to the Student Loan people . Now... this may have changed, but it was the case that if you left a course in the first year before January, you didn't have to pay your fees. How does that fathom out time-wise? I think that he should also get in touch with the student's union and see what help they can afford him (they must have legal person who deals with Uni issues).

Time-wise, he may be told quite quickly what will happen to him next, but my guess is that he'll be re-bailed a probably a couple of times and it maywell be a few months before he knows. One of the things the police will be waiting for is the forensic tests. If your son didn't have intercourse with the girl he shouldn't have anything to fear.

In any case, if he hasn't already got one, I would strongly advise you get in touch with a specialised solicitor with a proven experience of handling sexual accuation cases. Even if there's little that can really be done unless he's charged ( he should be entitled to legal aid), I feel it's good to make initial contact and he should, of course have a sol present at any subsequent interviews with th police.

one more thing... as Student Loan people are particularly sticky about only dealing with the 'adult' who took out the loan (your son), it's probably a good idea to get him to arrange for you to be authorised to communicate with them if he hasn't already done so.

Let us know how he gets on . All the best

[Busterboo]

relieved!

Hi Guys, just to say that sense prevailed - son readmitted to uni after a horrible week, the girl has dropped her accusation, so all three of them have been let back in. he remains on police bail till end of march, but we are assured that is just a formality and will most likely got to NFA. He has completed his police checks and they have all gone through , so he is clear to begin his work through uni with kids. This has been a horrible nightmare, strength to all that are going through this. Thoughts and prayers are will you all for successful outcomes. Thanks for the support and guidance given through this sight. It has been life changing for all of us!

[Casehardened]

Great news and so pleased for you both

(when the dust settles have a 'man to man' talk with him about casual one night stands; he must not take the risk of anyone else making an accusation against him!)

[myhome]

great news but please don't underestimate the time it may take for your son to recover from this ordeal nor the amount of support he may need...

[myhome]

great news but please don't underestimate the time it may take for your son to recover from this ordeal nor the amount of support he may need...