advice needed for brother

[macmckay1]

hi,im new to this but been googling and come across these threads.
basically, my 21 yr old brother has aspergers autism, he goes and lives in a college designed for disabled adults to help with living and college courses for them, hes been there nearly 2 years. recently hes had a fall out with one of the guys and i know this sounds all silly but because there austistic etc its very serious and over dramatic. anything this guy has been bullying my brother me and my mother have put in complaints etc. nothing being done.
couple months down the line the bully gets with a girl at the college and now all of a sudden my brother has gone in the woods and raped her. so she says! this isnt at all true, he got arrested a week ago and on bail till march. thsi girl goes to his college but doesn't live there just day visits. my brother denies it all theres cctv and she got took for tests a day later they will obviously be no evidence as it isnt true but hes on bail not been charged yet.
hes not allowed abck at college as this is his bail conditions and staying at my mums, its emotionally damaging him i feel so bad that i cant do anything at all i just need some advice on if he does get charged what to do? my mums looking into autistic specialist solicitors but surely hed need a rape specialist one? this girl is autistic aswell so everything in her statement is alover the place and i no its a very touchy subject but my brother didnt do this, he wouldnt no how for a start. i just need a bit of reassurance really. hes told me he gave her a hug that day as she was crying thats all and he doesnt lie he hasnt got the social skills to lie.
thanks in advance

[Casehardened]

Hi and welcome to the forum,

I'm sorry to hear about the situation your brother has found himself in though it is good that you are supporting him through it.

I shouldn't really make assumptions but from your choice of username would the college be located in Scotland? If so the legal procedures are slightly different there and one of our moderators has good knowledge of these and may be able to offer advice.

Otherwise there is some general advice pertaining to England in this link which you may find useful:

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

[joe_3178]

I'm so sorry to hear about this, it must be extremely difficult for you all. I hope your brother was interviewed in a careful way, for me personally the arrest and being held in a cell etc was very traumatic.

Hopefully some others -more experienced than me- can give you some good practical advice soon. A couple of initial thoughts; With regards to solicitors, perhaps you and your mum could look at options for both? Ie. Create a small shortlist that includes both types, and call them to get a sense of what might work best. Im sure those who are specialist with rape cases would be upfront about their understanding and ability with regards to autism so that may help. Its really really great that you are helping and supporting him with this, especially considering his individual needs. Hopefully a solicitor will not be needed in the long run but wish you all the best and well done on your support

Part of the difficulty with all this is coping with the extreme stress and worry. Especially in the early part which you are in now but throughout as well . Is there any help available for your brother in the form of Doctor/GP/counsellor to help talk and coach him through coping with this? This was hugely helpful for me, as I was barely able to cope without it. In extreme cases some even feel suicidal, So please consider any options if you haven't already, and same applies to you and your mum. Counselling is good.
I noticed the bail period is only about a month, As you may be aware by now, the bail period may well last a few months. I'd hope in the difficult circumstances the police will be quick but the process is typically very slow. Have you been able to get in touch with the officer in charge of the case? We called the OIC on a regular basis to try to get some small updates on how the investigation was progressing, and also just to help keep our case on their mind, so they know there is a very concerned family waiting for news.

I really hope things turn a corner soon. please keep in touch

[macmckay1]

reply

thanks for the quick replies. sorry no i am in east midlands england. grandads surename lol. thanks for all your support i will tell my mum as she was at the interview with him apparently he was held from 9am till 8pm with no tablets and food as he refused,and the interview lasted a hour. iv read into this and they have to be more lenient with them and do intervals etc which they didnt, also the tabelt situation is **** as that would affect my brother alot! yeah were assuming that the bail will keep going on just **** as its affecting his college really and want this over and done with. my mums got his social working on the case as into looking at counselling for him thanks for the advice on that. i will keep you all updated though..
have been told by the college that they have been throwing this rape word around for ages not knowing what this actually means! surely the college or care staff etc should be telling them and precautions are set in place not just cctv!

thanks again guys!

[Rights Fighter]

Your brother needs a solicitor who has a lot of experience in defending false allegations. A bog standard criminal defence solicitor who is great at getting burglars "off" simply will not do.

Many barristers have experience with dealing with autistic defendants as it comes with the territory. The solicitor would or should have that in mind when it comes to instructing one - should there be a charge.

Take one step at a time. Please can I ask you to write in small paragraphs? Most of my work is done staring into a screen, so over the years my eyes have become boggled - thanks