My ex husband has been arrested on rape charges.

[DreadinThis]

My ex husband was arrested on rape charges, totally false, yesterday. He declined legal advice at the time (foolish impatience), and has to return to police station in a month to see if he's being charged. 24hrs later, no solicitor yet, 2 extremely concerned sons (young men) and I don't know where to turn. Woman concerned has learning difficulties, which opens yet more minefields. Praying it will all go away next month, but.......

[Casehardened]

Hello and welcome to the forum,

Sadly your story is rather similar to others that have come up recently; however that does mean that there are several members who will have understanding of what you are going through (including the sleepless nights!)

In the meantime have a look at this link it may offer some answers:

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

[Franticwithworry]

Please try not to worry about your ex being interviewed without a solicitor being present. My man did the same and legal advice we got later (from an excellent and highly recommended source) reassured us that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Hang in there. I hope you, your ex and your boys are slowly recovering from the shock. Unfortunately, it may be a long road ahead.

[Rights Fighter]

He really should have had a solicitor with him as the police will sometimes ask trick questions, which the sol could have put a stop to. A good sol would also stop a client answering questions with too much innocent information, that can be twisted to suit.

You say no solicitor yet. What do you mean by that? Are you expecting one to contact you?

[Franticwithworry]

While I agree with Rights Fighter too, who is far more knowledgeable than I, the other point is that there is no point in worrying about what has already happened. What's done is done. Look to the future and how best to manage that.

[DreadinThis]

He really should have had a solicitor with him as the police will sometimes ask trick questions, which the sol could have put a stop to. A good sol would also stop a client answering questions with too much innocent information, that can be twisted to suit.

You say no solicitor yet. What do you mean by that? Are you expecting one to contact you?

He doesn't have a solicitor at all yet. But I did see one suggestion in another post, that a solicitor may be an unnecessary expense until nearer his return to the police station. However, I intend to start looking tomorrow. But I fear that it will be difficult to know when one is good. I imagine there must be a way to see their success rates. Thank you for your help.

[DreadinThis]

Hello and welcome to the forum,

Sadly your story is rather similar to others that have come up recently; however that does mean that there are several members who will have understanding of what you are going through (including the sleepless nights!)



In the meantime have a look at this link it may offer some answers:

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

Thank you very much. I found this link very informative. It made me feel a lot more optimistic. Nice one...

[Franticwithworry]

Theres a thread on here with people's recommendations for solicitors. You might find one in your area there. Be careful though because people post warnings for solicitors who are not so good too. Personal recommendations are always the best way to go when it comes to finding a solicitor if possible - hence the thread. There isn't really an accurate rating system.

[DreadinThis]

This time last week I could never have imagined the terrible situation that my family is in today. It still doesn't feel real. But now that we are here I would like to say a big THANK YOU everybody. You really are very kind. As the first e-mail arrived and I began to read, I didn't feel so isolated anymore. I also feel a little optimistic because he hasn't been charged yet. I did see one link that suggested a solicitor wasn't vital yet. But I will start looking 2moro. Don't suppose there's league tables of these practices. Things are no less daunting tonight, but already I feel a lot stronger. Thanks

[Rights Fighter]

He doesn't have a solicitor at all yet. But I did see one suggestion in another post, that a solicitor may be an unnecessary expense until nearer his return to the police station. However, I intend to start looking tomorrow. But I fear that it will be difficult to know when one is good. I imagine there must be a way to see their success rates. Thank you for your help.

There is no legal aid between police interviews and charge. To instruct one now would probably be a waste of money, as all they can do, really, is a virtual hand-holding and maybe send emails to the police or ring them, but that still won't make a fat lot of difference, if any difference at all.

You need to clarify if the accused is eligible for legal aid, so you know where to start looking, if there is a charge. Anything else, it's just a waiting game I'm sorry to say.