accused

[kris]

My brother had been recently accused of raping our cousin after he let her spend the night in our house because she felt she was too drunk to go home. My brother said she had the bed while he slept on the floor. She left the next morning, just before 10, walking past my parents and not saying anything (this is normal for her anytime she is up). Later that day the police turn up and arrest my brother for apparently raping her. He is adamant that absolutely nothing had happened between the two of them and even my mum and dad said they heard nothing throughout the night (it is impossible to move on his bed without it making some sort of sound).

He got a solicitor who later said he saw her statement and there is nothing in it. My bro got out later that night and is understandably devastated at what has happened when he was only trying to help. There has been nothing since and two weeks have passed. Does anyone know how long these things tend to take? To me this is plenty enough time to have passed. Also he has been given a date in a couple months time were apparently the police will then decide whether or not the case will continue but surely if they had evidence they would not wait.

Can anyone shed any light on this for me? I'm struggling to understand. And please tell me something will happen to her if this comes out as false. She is tearing our family apart.

[Casehardened]

Also he has been given a date in a couple months time were apparently the police will then decide whether or not the case will continue but surely if they had evidence they would not wait.

Hi kris, welcome to the forum & well done for supporting your brother over this accusation.

Has he been bailed to this date to return to the station? (He would have been given a copy of his signed bail sheet)

If so there is some general advice in this link:

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

[kris]

I have no idea. All we know is he was being held and was then released. The police woman in charge of the case phoned us to say she couldn't tell us anything but hinted that he was let out. He can't say anything about the case because it could interfere with the investigation and no-one else is saying anything. I've been told he could possibly be held on bail but all he has said is that's the date when he will find out if the case is being continued or dropped. Thank you very much for the link.

[bootandsuit]

If he was arrested based on this allegation it sounds like your bro like me is on bail. As you know I'm due to answer bail next week so sounds like it's it's bail date then they will decide if NFA or re bail or charged I would imagine like me he will be re bailed CPS seem to take an age.

However the excellent thing on your bros side is there will be no DNA which will prove his side of things ....only wish I had the same lol

SB

[Rights Fighter]

Unfortunately bail can go on for a very long time. One of our members was on bail for nearly 22 months before being NFA'd.

Would there be any motive for lying do you know? Does she owe money to anyone that she cannot pay off?

As she is a family member, do you know if she has a history or lying to wriggle out of something or merely for attention?

[kris]

There are only some silly things I can think of but having this response is a bit extreme (well it is in any case). She is a bit of an attention seeker. She has recently gotten over an injury so we also feel like she might have done this to continue getting it. I don't really know her enough to see if she may be lying or trying to get out of trouble. My bro was closer to her as they grew up together and were really close friends. Makes this a bit more sickening.

Also sounded a bit planned to me as she was out with my bro and his friend that night and was apparently trying to throw herself at them and behaving as a hussy in general. Obviously haven't spoken to the friend as it is likely he will be a part of the investigation. Its annoying not being able to talk to the people who may be key to this to help settle nerves.

Bootandsuit: I hope it doesn't take that long. Parents are only just hanging on and they are really not in good health to be dealing with stress like this. Hopefully all will go well for you next week.

[Rights Fighter]

If your brother is charged your solicitor can interview his friend and take a statement. Please do not let the police tell you differently. I've known defendants who have been told that defence potential witnesses have been interviewed by the police and therefore are now 'prosecution witnesses" and to have no contact with them. At trial those 'prosecution witnesses' are then dropped, not called to trial.

That means evidence that could have assisted at trial cannot assist at appeal as it is not 'fresh'. One of the guys on here was told the same thing. That meant that his family members who would have been present at some of the alleged assaults and could refute the claims, did not give evidence. They could also have given some very helpful circumstantial evidence that would have proved the complainant to be lying. As it is, they were told they were witnesses for prosecution, def was told by the police under no circumstances was he to talk to them - at all. They had no idea that they were official witnesses for prosecution and they thought that as they hadn't heard from him, he just wasn't talking to them.

[kris]

Hi kris, welcome to the forum & well done for supporting your brother over this accusation.

Has he been bailed to this date to return to the station? (He would have been given a copy of his signed bail sheet)

If so there is some general advice in this link:

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

Thank you very much. Going by the info on the link everything sounds just about right. Damn shame though nothing will happen to her if it comes out to be false. I have no doubt that he is innocent so please don't think anything of me always saying "if" instead of "when". You never know how the police or the court will find him. btw do you know if a relative can write the letter to the mps to complain about the justice system or will it have to be the accused. I can see my bro wanting to put it behind him and while I agree but after seeing all these posts about those falsely accused something will need to be done. Its not a title someone gets rid off despite if they were cleared of the charge.

[kris]

That means evidence that could have assisted at trial cannot assist at appeal as it is not 'fresh'. One of the guys on here was told the same thing. That meant that his family members who would have been present at some of the alleged assaults and could refute the claims, did not give evidence. They could also have given some very helpful circumstantial evidence that would have proved the complainant to be lying. As it is, they were told they were witnesses for prosecution, def was told by the police under no circumstances was he to talk to them - at all. They had no idea that they were official witnesses for prosecution and they thought that as they hadn't heard from him, he just wasn't talking to them.

Thanks for the info. That's good to know. I'll tell him and get him to make sure his solicitor is going to do this. The police questioned our parents on the events on the night (as it apparently happened in the house) and it was things that would have supported him. They haven't even taken a statement. So now wondering if its going along the same lines as what you have just said.

[Rights Fighter]

If they didn't take a statement which they signed, the police cannot pretend there are witnesses for prosecution. If the police come back and take a section 9 statement (official statement) and they feel pressured to sign it, make sure they sign right where their words end so nothing untoward and be added later. Or do a long squiggle down the page so nothing can be written over the top of that bit.

Or they can refuse to make a statement saying that there is nothing they can say that would help the prosecution case.

Defence solicitor can still interview them even if they do make a statement to the police.

[kris]

They were only questioned but no statement taken. Will they usually come back later if he is to be charged?

[Rights Fighter]

Not necessarily. Not all police officers abuse their positions and most do actually do the job properly without any dirty tricks.

The problem is, because there are a few who do not investigate both sides to the point of even hiding evidence, people have to assume that that is what will happen so have to prepare themselves for that, in case they do not have a decent OIC investigating the case properly.

[kris]

Ok. Thank you. Will have to let him know