Husband apparently accused of historic rape

[dismayed77]

Today I received a very disturbing call from my step-daughter informing me that she had been told by my husband's cousin that he and his two brothers were accusing her father (my husband) of having raped them 26 years ago! she had been told that a warrant is out for his arrest, that his mother and brother were both on bail and that items were being removed from their house. I spoke to my husband at work and he was as stunned as me - he told me he had not seen these cousins for years. He is estranged from most of his family, they do not have our address and this also means that so far I have been unable to corroborate the information about his mother and brother.

According to what my stepdaughter was told, these allegations were first made back in March. My husband said he had a missed call from the police around that time but forgot about it till now, so obviously had not followed it up. We have had no other contact from the police at all. Does this sound right? Even though his family do not have our address, we are not hard to find and they know what town we live in. I am very confused as to what could be happening.


If these allegations have been made and there is an arrest warrant, what would potentially happen next? My husband was only 13 years old at the time of the alleged incidents.

Any advice gratefully received.

[Casehardened]

Hello and welcome to the forum, though sorry to hear you have been plunged into this situation.

It might be better for your husband to contact the police rather than wait to be approached, the end result will be the same but at least you won't get the squad knocking at your door! Bear in mind your home may be searched and computers/mobile phone taken to be examined (as the allegations involve children)

As the allegation was supposed to have occurred 26 years ago and as your husband was 13 at the time doli incapax may apply. One of our members, I believe it was Soulbug, has researched this extensively and may be able to elaborate or you could google it.

http://www.daftmoo.org.uk/mooforum/s...0-Doli-Incapax

As to what might happen have a look at this thread:

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

[myhome]

Hi and welcome to the forum but sorry to see yet another new person here.....
It is a bit odd that the police have apparently arrested his mother and brother then didn't follow up their phone call to your husband. has your step-daughter said why the mother and brother were arrested - they must have had a reason and if so is it related to what your husband is alleged to have done?
There is a phrase in law - in Latin - (sorry I can't remember it) which has something to do with underage children and the law regarding sexual assault - hopefully someone will be along shortly and be able to give it to you...
Words of caution -if/when your husband is interviewed by the police he MUST have a solicitor with him who MUST take notes on your behalf during the interview. Your husband must only answer questions he is asked and not volunteer anything else especially if he thinks it will help him - the police have a tendency to "lose" or "forget" stuff like that and if it contradicts anything the complainant has said, they will go back to the complainant with that information and he will be allowed to change his story to make that information wrong.
keep strong - this could be a long and very emotional journey - or it could be a short one that goes nowhere. keep posting and we'll help all we can....MH

[myhome]

Ah - casehardened- thank you - our answers must have crossed in the ether http://www.daftmoo.org.uk/mooforum/s...0-Doli-Incapax was what my aged brain was trying to remember....

[dismayed77]

Thank you so much for the great advice, my husband has decided he will go to the police himself to find out what is going on, so I will update you.

The doli incapax information could indeed prove very relevant if things do escalate, so I will be reading up more on that.

From what I have been told, my mother-in law and brother-in-law have been bailed and the house searched etc in relation to these same allegations which is what I find strange. It is the house my husband lived in at the time of the alleged incident, but he has not lived there for over 5 years now. More importantly, would the police really be arresting them and investigating so much without contacting my husband anymore than one missed call?

I can't help thinking (and hoping!) that this is some sick vengeance plot they are cooking up because my husband wants nothing to do with most of them....

[is there justice?]

Hi

This must be a shock to you both. Two things spring to mind. Firstly it may not be true at all. Secondly the police may have already found there are big holes in the accusations.

Good luck, please keep us updated.

[Rights Fighter]

How does he know he had a missed call from the police? Did he check the number?

If it was the police that called, they would have called back given how serious the allegations are. This could all be rubbish to upset you all of course.

If you contact the police they will then set the ball rolling with the accuser(s) possibly even though nothing has actually been reported. It could backfire badly.

[soulbug]

An old doctrine called "Doli Incapax" may well apply in your circumstances right up to the age of your husband been 14 years of age subject to it been pre 1998 (not sure on the exact date within the year).
Please Note :- Do not let any form of legal advice , tell you Doli Incapx does not apply , your husband if all allegations where the age of pre 14 years old , then Doli Incapx will definately apply , i had many varied opinions , trust me , it does apply and a crown court judge threw my case out based on the doli incapax point.

Basically anything up to the age of 10 , you could not really commit a crime , according to U.K law
from 10 - 14 you are presumed innocent unless they can prove otherwise.

I myself had to go through this battle and the Judge threw the whole situation out as a "abuse of process"

my case was based on false historic allegations from 1983 - 1985 , I was under the age of 14 so therefore "Doli Incapax" applied .
When I was arrested , knocked up at 5am or so in the morning and put in a police cell for 6 hours , my duty solicitor told me to go "No Comment" on the interview , my barrister Tania Griffiths told me based on my circumstances she would of gone "No comment " also.
For Doli Incapax to be re-butted (prove that your husband was capable of guilt ) then they have to have evidence separate to the evidence of your witnesses , e.g. a police caution before he was 14 , for say some kind of sexual offence , basically something firm and official , or some kind of psychology report for when your husband was 14 would help the police / CPS.
When I was interviewed , due to the police knowing this would more than likely be a doli incapax situation , they posed lots of questions to me along the lines of , "you knew what you was doing was wrong didn't you ? "

Below is a link to a very good 168 page eBook that fully explains Doli Incapax , the person that wrote the book , Francis Bennion , is 100 % a expert on such matters.

http://www.francisbennion.com/pdfs/f...l-2003-act.pdf

Chapter 14 in particular is a important read and a good starting point , if you want to jump straight into the Doli Incapax point.

if it does not make sense , re-read chapter 14 a good few times , I know when I was first arrested it took me at least 10 days to be able to get out of bed and be able to think straight.....your husband is going to be feeling very confused

If your husband is within this type of age range and pre 1998 , then DO NOT let anyone tell you Doli Incapax does not apply , trust me a fair few solicitors offices told me it would not apply , they simply did not know there eggs , but the law was on my side and thankfully Chris Saltrease and Tania Griffiths where my Solicitor and Barrister.

One point you make is that his mother and brother were both on bail and things where been taken from the house , then unless he his not talking to either person for one reason or another , then it mightbe best to call them and ask for more information to confirm the rumour , BUT might be best to wait for the phone call from the police first , as i am not sure if legally it is a good idea to contact them , while a investigation is proceeding , but as far as your you and your husband is concerned this is nothing more than rumour etc.

Also , if your husband does recieve a phone call , the police will not ask questions / interview him over the phone , so if someone is out to wind your husband up , then if he does recieve a phone call from the police , it would be best to do nothing more than confirm his name etc and to arrange a suitable time to go down and meet the officer in person at the station , nothing more than that , anyone can obtain a sim card and make a call to your husband .

Remember the police are not your friends , they have a duty to investigate , make sure you use a solicitor , under no circumstances go into a police interview with out a solicitor , one will / can be appointed free of charge on the day if required......if the matter proceeds further , then make sure you find a expert in this field .