What does a cancelled bail date mean?

[Life sucks]

Hi, I desperately hope someone out there may be able to help.

I am new to this site and this is my first post.

My son was arrested in October 2014 and accused of rape. He was in total shock, held at the police station for 10 hours and interviewed. He had a duty solicitor present at the time. As he is 21 and classed as an adult, I had no idea where he was or what was going on. Eventually I found out that he was at the police station, so I called and was told that they couldn't give me any information.

My son has never been in trouble with the law before, so this was a total shock and devastating news.

He was bailed to reappear today, 14th Jan 2015.

When we got back from the police station we spent the whole night recording the events of that night. In my opinion, he has been FALSELY ACCUSED!

The last three months have been absolute hell, its been like a dark cloud hanging over us. We have heard nothing from anybody and have been left entirely alone with our thoughts and feelings. It's been a struggle to continue with 'normal life'.

We had the bail date in our minds as either and end to the whole nasty business, or, we felt that if he was charged, we could prepare to fight our case.

Yesterday, the day before he was due to return to the police station, the duty solicitor called and said he had been told that my son did not need to attend today.

There is no further date set, he is waiting for a letter from the police.

This is so confusing, what does it mean?

Is he going to be charged or let off?

How can they leave us with no idea what's going on?

Where do we go from here?

Is it best to not use the duty solicitor to act on his behalf or seek a very experienced lawyer? My feelings are that this is the case.

Do we wait until he has been charged before we find someone?

Thank you for your help

[joe_3178]

Hi I personally think a good next step would be to get back in touch with the duty solicitor to find out what he/she knows.

It should be possible to find out either from the solicitor or by your son contacting the OIC (officer in charge) or the Police team involved

A NFA (no further action) is what you are after
The other possibility is that he is being rebailed or charged

Did you say he was originally arrested back in 2014? Over a year ago? Has he been on bail for a year?

[TBG1]

Hi LS - "Welcome" to the forum....at the very least, you will find participating on here will help with moral support but at best, it might make a huge difference to your situation and how you proceed from here on.


Firstly, I going to assume you mean that your son was arrested in October 2015?


With regards to the cancelled bail date - it's an interesting one...and one that I'm sure other members will "jump in" on because I'm not too certain myself. What I would ask is if you would re-post and confirm what language was used - i.e. "Bail cancelled" or "Bail extended" because to my mind they would be two completely different things. If it is "Bail extended" (which many members have suffered) then it is the case that the Police are still "investigating" and often that will result in re-scheduling your bail date for an extra 3 months (for example).


If it is "Bail cancelled" then to me (and I have no experience or knowledge on the matter-I'm just going by the language used) that would suggest either that your son is no longer on bail and therefore the authorities have decided 'No Further Action (NFA)'. However it could also mean that charges are being bought ... but if that were the case they would ordinarily have told the duty solicitor who would have passed that information onto you.


So, I'm sorry that I won't have given a great deal of clarity (if any) to that question but at least it might help you to think of questions to ask if you speak with your duty solicitor again - On the point of whether an experienced lawyer would be of more assistance, I would probably say 'No' because there is nothing that they can do until (or unless) charges are brought....my advice would be that it's perhaps only worth doing that if you are reasonably certain at this point that your son will be charged. If not, just sit tight.


As for the time that the investigation is taking - I'm afraid that this will frustrate you immensely. Many members have be re-bailed several times. I, myself, am still awaiting NFA or charge and it is 8 months since I was interviewed. Some members have experienced well over a year before receiving an outcome. It is also highly unlikely that you will receive any updates - certainly the Police will not simply phone you periodically - unless you contact the Officer In Charge....and even then, you are likely to get an emotionless, "Investigation still ongoing" reply.


I'm sorry that you've found your way here, but please take a read through other people's threads and you will soon realise that it's good that you did as you will find people in a very similar situation, people a bit further along the process and people who have lots of actual experience of being falsely accused. These will all help settle and focus your mind and help prepare you for whatever comes next.


Keep posting & Best Wishes to you & your son,


TBG1

[can it get worse]

Hi - I cannot add to what has already been advised by TBG1. It is important to get the 'wording' correct.

I must admit though that I'm surprised the sol. did not clarify.

Welcome to this forum - but I hope it is a short membership for you!

[Life sucks]

Thank you so much for responding to my thread so quickly, its great to know that we're not alone.

The duty solicitor did not say either bail cancelled, or bail extended, he didn't seem to know himself, hence the confusion.

Have phoned the solicitors office again to try and clarify, only to be told by the receptionist (yet again) that they are all in court and will ring my son back.

How can you're life be turned upside down like this. Don't these girls have any idea what they are doing and the harm they are causing by lying like this?

Today has been pants (to put it mildly)

[Life sucks]

Oops, and I meant to say October 2015!

[TBG1]

How can you're life be turned upside down like this. Don't these girls have any idea what they are doing and the harm they are causing by lying like this?

Today has been pants (to put it mildly)

Sadly, some girls (and let's not forget some guys too) these days are completely oblivious to the implications of lying about these matters. Others simply don't care. Either way, there is no deterrent at this point - they will suffer no repercussions if the authorities decide not to charge those they accuse. So "why not give it a try" will be their attitude.


Perhaps you could share brief details of how this situation has come about? No need to go into detail or name names, towns etc., - That way, you will attract posts and advice from those whose plight/situation bears close resemblance to your son's.


As for today being pants, I know exactly ho you feel.....But try to look for the positive: Today you found your way here.....With "normal" problems your friends & family are more than enough, but fot THIS type of problem - there's nobody you can talk to. But today, for the first time in 3 months, you've been able to tell someone what's wrong & how you feel. Today got better when you posted here.


Best Wishes

TBG1

[kw1981]

Hi

Sorry you had to find yourself here Life sucks but welcome nonetheless. You have come to the right place. I discovered this forum only last night and the support and advice I have already received has been amazing. Myself and my partner are in a similar situation. Please remember you are not alone, this hell you and your son are currently experiencing will pass, there is light at the end of the tunnel even if sometimes you loose sight of it.

[innocentson]

Keep strong for your son & family

Hi Life Sucks

So depressing to read yet another case but welcome to the forum

Please heed all the advice you can from this collection of kind people who are in various stages of this awful process & as a mother too, I can recall exactly all the horrible feelings and turmoil you are going through.

My son was a 21 year old student at the time of the "consensual" one night stand at uni .... But the girl involved withdrew her allegation within days (cos it was obviously regret at cheating on her boyfriend who had found out....)

Long story, but 9 years later it was re-surfaced.... Almost a year Of our lives ruined ; jan 15 police knocked on our door (bearing in mind : like many others on here, we had NO prior dealings with the police ) total nightmare ..... Ours resulted in a unanimous NG in December .
The police not only did No investigation at the time 9 years ago, but they blatantly hid evidence during the process p, until forced to admit and disclose it at trial eg cctv & her phone records ... Proving not only our sons innocence but her blatant lies as she was constantly on the phone all night to her boyfriend and another boy ; who the police didn't even interview..... And witnesses seen in the cctv were not interviewed and cctv lost .... You really couldn't make it up !


But any repercussions on her or them ... Nope ! We're told to forget it and move on with our lives....
The world has gone mad !!

Sorry to go on , Even now it's over, it's hard to forgive and certainly forget... But trying still :-)

However I hope your sons case will be NFA'd and soon .... But the reason I wanted to respond to you is to emphasise not to trust the police. Save any evidence you may have to prove his innocence and give it to your solicitor. Try and get a good solicitor lined up ; just in case & make sure they attend any interviews with your son. And finally I know our son tried to shield us from as much as he could; particularly how he was feeling, scared, sick etc ... So try to keep things as routine for him as you can. Make sure he keeps up with friends and hobbies, you too . You all need breathing time out from the nightmare as much as possible.

Best wishes in the interim. I'm away for a holiday soon, but if you want to chat to another mum who survived the process or ask any questions etc , feel free to pm me and we can talk when I get back if you like

[Life sucks]

How do I tell my story?

It is such a relief to be able to come on here and share my experiences with you all. I am in total shock that so many people are in this situation and have been falsely accused.

Everyone has been so kind and supportive. It makes me want to cry (I'm extra emotional right now) when I hear about other cases and the injustice that is out there. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? I was always a firm believer that the Police were good and on my side, now I'm being told not to trust them.

I would like to share my sons experience with you, but am afraid to do so, as the Police seem to have access to everything. What if someone recognises the story and it makes things worse?

What I will say for now is that there were two young men involved, including my son (which makes it more complicated) and that the girl has a boyfriend!!!

I believe that she went straight to her boyfriend the next day and told him she had been raped by two men! He encouraged her to go to the police.

Do you think the investigation will take much longer as there are three people involved?

Still had no call or letter from solicitor or police clarifying why my son was told not to attend his bail date.

I feel helpless and want to do something. People have mentioned screen dumping her facebook pages, but how can you do that if shes not your 'friend' and is this allowed!!!

[Rights Fighter]

Yep it's allowed in evidence, providing it "corrects a false impression" that the complainant has made. for instance:

"Since the rape I've not been able to go out anywhere and stay clear of men".

She can then be presented with evidence that shows, for instance, her at a male strip show with the stripper right up close and personal to her with her laughing........

One I was heavily involved with, the mother of the complainants claimed that they were scared to go out in case he was skulking in the shadows, and were terrified of doing the necessary food shopping as he could be there lurking in the shadows when they left or when they came back in.

They claimed they never socialised or went on holiday. They were presented with photos from BBQs in their and their neighbours back gardens, on holiday at a holiday camp, in the local pub etc etc etc.

I had to write a statement to prove to the court that this was not the defendant stalking them online, as was alleged. He couldn't switch on a computer let alone navigate his way around Facebook......