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Rather ironic but I found this site after my son was recently acquitted after being falsely accused of rape. i was looking for other such cases and how to deal with the aftermath. It is heartening to find so many survivors but my heart goes out to the many who are going through this terrible nightmare.
Some of the high points and low points of my son's case which might be of interest to others depending on their current stage of the journey:
High points:
The jury were fantastic and ignored the biased summing up by the judge
The jury took just 90 minutes to find him not guilty
The prosecution barrister did not give him a hard time (our barrister said he was sure the prosecution didn't believe her)
The medical expert from the rape centre who examined her was very fair and refused to be bullied into saying things that would have supported rape
There was a gruesome and bizarre murder case being tried at the same time and that took most of the media interest leaving our courtroom devoid of journalists
Low points:
It took 3 years to come to court (his solicitor had closed the file as he thought it was definitely NFA)
My son stuck with the duty solicitor from his arrest and he kept telling him nothing would come of this. I doubt he had much experience of this type of case.
The police refused him legal representation at his initial interview. Before trial an independent judge rule the interview inadmissible.
After two years of nothing and despite an agreement that they would contact the solicitor if they wanted to question or charge him, the police arrived early one morning with journalists and a film crew from local tv station to arrest and charge him. The police had been criticised by a report on the local tv station saying they weren't doing enough about rape allegations. This was their attempt to show they were. So they took along the tv crew and arrested a number of men involved in ongoing allegations.
She changed her story 5 times and the police accepted each different version without question
Previous false allegations she had made of other rapes and assaults were not allowed to be mentioned in court
Her drug and alcohol addictions and mental health issues could not be raised despite playing a big part in her false accusation
My advice to others is this:
Never trust the police. They are only out to get their conviction rate up/next promotion.
Find a good solicitor who has the right experience. He will find the right barrister.
Get your phone/laptop to your solicitor for him/her to get it forensically analysed for all texts/emails etc. if they support your defence. These were absolutely crucial in my son's not guilty verdict. The jury were actually shaking their heads in disbelief at some of her messages to him begging him for sex after the alleged rape.
Have faith that the jury might be decent people who will see the truth despite the attempts of the prosecution and the judge to force a guilty verdict.
The "victim" told my son that she had tried to withdraw the allegation several times but the police threatened her with prosecution and a jail sentence. And she was told in detail about the compensation she could claim if she went through with it.
Good luck to everyone.
Some of the high points and low points of my son's case which might be of interest to others depending on their current stage of the journey:
High points:
The jury were fantastic and ignored the biased summing up by the judge
The jury took just 90 minutes to find him not guilty
The prosecution barrister did not give him a hard time (our barrister said he was sure the prosecution didn't believe her)
The medical expert from the rape centre who examined her was very fair and refused to be bullied into saying things that would have supported rape
There was a gruesome and bizarre murder case being tried at the same time and that took most of the media interest leaving our courtroom devoid of journalists
Low points:
It took 3 years to come to court (his solicitor had closed the file as he thought it was definitely NFA)
My son stuck with the duty solicitor from his arrest and he kept telling him nothing would come of this. I doubt he had much experience of this type of case.
The police refused him legal representation at his initial interview. Before trial an independent judge rule the interview inadmissible.
After two years of nothing and despite an agreement that they would contact the solicitor if they wanted to question or charge him, the police arrived early one morning with journalists and a film crew from local tv station to arrest and charge him. The police had been criticised by a report on the local tv station saying they weren't doing enough about rape allegations. This was their attempt to show they were. So they took along the tv crew and arrested a number of men involved in ongoing allegations.
She changed her story 5 times and the police accepted each different version without question
Previous false allegations she had made of other rapes and assaults were not allowed to be mentioned in court
Her drug and alcohol addictions and mental health issues could not be raised despite playing a big part in her false accusation
My advice to others is this:
Never trust the police. They are only out to get their conviction rate up/next promotion.
Find a good solicitor who has the right experience. He will find the right barrister.
Get your phone/laptop to your solicitor for him/her to get it forensically analysed for all texts/emails etc. if they support your defence. These were absolutely crucial in my son's not guilty verdict. The jury were actually shaking their heads in disbelief at some of her messages to him begging him for sex after the alleged rape.
Have faith that the jury might be decent people who will see the truth despite the attempts of the prosecution and the judge to force a guilty verdict.
The "victim" told my son that she had tried to withdraw the allegation several times but the police threatened her with prosecution and a jail sentence. And she was told in detail about the compensation she could claim if she went through with it.
Good luck to everyone.
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