How long will they keep him for?

[weary]

Actually, I'm not "weary" -he is my OH and he posted a few days ago waiting for an interview for a false allegation of historic indecent assault over 30 years ago. We asked for the thread to be withdrawn because of fears (probably paranoid) the main complainant might recognise the story)
So weary, my OH went for an interview at the station today at 11 and I am still waiting for him to come back - it is now 5 hours since he should have gone in. What do you think this means? Of course, he might have finished the interview and gone for a long walk to calm down but I am sure he would have texted if that was the case. But no text of good or bad news and no weary back home yet... what does it mean? If he's being interviewed for so long then is that bad news or good news?
Oh the waiting is dreadful, and weary and I will be very grateful for the support of this community. I'm going to post instead of him in future, if that is ok.

[Rights Fighter]

Ring the duty solicitor and find out if the office knows what is going on. Could be that a sol hasn't been found for him if he hasn't asked for one specifically

[weary]

Ring the duty solicitor and find out if the office knows what is going on. Could be that a sol hasn't been found for him if he hasn't asked for one specifically

He went with a solicitor we know. Or at least the plan was a solicitor would meet him there to be with him. I just dropped him off at the station this morning.

[LondonTeacher]

Don't stress weary. I know exactly how you're feeling.

Was he answering bail? Or was it the initial interview?

When I went to the police station for my "chat"

I got there at 5:30pm and didn't leave till 12:30 am the next morning!
That's over 7 hours. I was put in an holding cell for about 4 hours. It was the weekend and the police station was very busy

Keep the faith! I'm praying and hoping for the best

[weary]

Don't stress weary. I know exactly how you're feeling.

Was he answering bail? Or was it the initial interview?

When I went to the police station for my "chat"

I got there at 5:30pm and didn't leave till 12:30 am the next morning!
That's over 7 hours. I was put in an holding cell for about 4 hours. It was the weekend and the police station was very busy

Keep the faith! I'm praying and hoping for the best

@LondonTeacher -it was a "chat" - the police visited last week and said there were allegations and to come in for an interview today. This is the first time.
Ironically, the long time you say you were there does encourage me a bit. but I just cannot see why it can take so long when he is innocent. I guess because the police believe the complainants instead of him.

[LondonTeacher]

I was there over 7 hours after my arrest
They took my DNA, fingerprints, photograph and then put me in the cellS

The interview with the detective lasted for 1.5 hrs there about

Be encouraged xx

[Rights Fighter]

He went with a solicitor we know. Or at least the plan was a solicitor would meet him there to be with him. I just dropped him off at the station this morning.

Give the duty sol's office a call and see if they can find out anything. I appreciate you must be feeling really worried as it is taking so long. It's nearly 5pm so do that now, if you get this in time.

[Casehardened]

It may be that he was arrested when he got there, for procedural reasons, and in this instance 5 hours is not long.

[hello88]

i can't remember the exact times my OH was at the police station, i just remember it feeling like 'all day' so 5 hours isn't that abnormal.

Just be prepared though, not matter how prepared he thought he was for this he would of been through a tough time. Give him lots of support but not lots of questions yet... (i'm sure he would of had enough of those today) He will tell you about the details when he's ready...

keep strong xxx

[weary]

So... he got back just after five pm. Turns out they wasted an hour because they went into one "voluntary interview room" and did the first bit on the cassette tape (cassette tape - stiill?!!) but then it broke and the woman tried several times to get it to work but failed, so they had to move everything into a second voluntary interview room where the tape recorder worked, so they got started.
My OH gave me a full account - he answered all the questions with the truth - I mean - he is innocent! But the fact that he knew the people involved meant he had to explain which was fabricated and which was true. He had prepared a statement where he mentioned his suspicions that this is a conspiracy against him (we've suffered harassment and tabloid exposure by said complainants previously) which the solicitor advised him to leave till the end, and he did. After the interview the solicitor said he'd done very well (actually, he said my OH had "performed very well" - I am not sure if that means he thinks my OK is guilty , because he's not!) He said obviously he can't guarantee this won't go to court, but he said that if it does, he is very confident that weary, my OH, will state his case very well.
So that is a relief, but of course, now we have to wait and see what happens. Weary, my OH, has loads of evidence to prove the claimants are lying and has invited the police to look at it and they said they would take photocopies - I am very worried about this because we've been reading that you shouldn't give anything away in advance of a court case.... but OH is determined to prove his innocence and show the claimants as liers so that it doesn't get as far as that.
Anyway,, in the meantime, he feels he did as well as he could getting his message across, so we can but hope.

[Franticwithworry]

Glad to hear that he is home. I understand your husband's wish to set everythinh straight as much and as soon as possible. My man is the same. Wishing you strength for the long wait ahead.

[jittery]

hi

So... he got back just after five pm. Turns out they wasted an hour because they went into one "voluntary interview room" and did the first bit on the cassette tape (cassette tape - stiill?!!) but then it broke and the woman tried several times to get it to work but failed, so they had to move everything into a second voluntary interview room where the tape recorder worked, so they got started.
My OH gave me a full account - he answered all the questions with the truth - I mean - he is innocent! But the fact that he knew the people involved meant he had to explain which was fabricated and which was true. He had prepared a statement where he mentioned his suspicions that this is a conspiracy against him (we've suffered harassment and tabloid exposure by said complainants previously) which the solicitor advised him to leave till the end, and he did. After the interview the solicitor said he'd done very well (actually, he said my OH had "performed very well" - I am not sure if that means he thinks my OK is guilty , because he's not!) He said obviously he can't guarantee this won't go to court, but he said that if it does, he is very confident that weary, my OH, will state his case very well.
So that is a relief, but of course, now we have to wait and see what happens. Weary, my OH, has loads of evidence to prove the claimants are lying and has invited the police to look at it and they said they would take photocopies - I am very worried about this because we've been reading that you shouldn't give anything away in advance of a court case.... but OH is determined to prove his innocence and show the claimants as liers so that it doesn't get as far as that.
Anyway,, in the meantime, he feels he did as well as he could getting his message across, so we can but hope.

Honesty's always the best policy, give the police all the help you can. I think you have to let the prosecution know in advance what you intend to bring to light and vica- versa, so you'd have to tell them anyway, the Hollywood sharp intake of breath when a lawyer produces new damning evidence in court is a bit of a fallacy.
I wouldn't read anything into the sol's words- easily done I know, it's the frame of mind we end up in. When I deliver lectures, it's a performance, I'm something of a showman at heart and love an audience, but there's no dark motive for this: it's just the way I am. If you DO feel down the line the sol is unsatisfactory for some reason I think I'm right in saying you can change him.
Stay strong

[Rights Fighter]

he said my OH had "performed very well".........

Read absolutely nothing into that. Totally innocent people can "perform badly" because they are nervous, scared etc etc. If they "perform well" that means that basically, they behaved well (no shouting, crying or swearing) and also importantly, came across well, in other words, gave the right answers which the officers couldn't twist, and if they did, he answered without getting his knickers in a knot.

Well done Weary! The solicitor sounds as though he "performed well" too. Who is he, out of interest?

[weary]

Thankyou very much for all your supportive comments. The solicitor is a local one in our area with a good reputation.
One thing that did worry me after my OH told me about the interview was that I had read you shouldn't correct inaccuracies because the police then go back to the original complainants who will then change their statement...
so for example, the police told my OH the complainant said he assaulted her in a ** coloured car of the *** make - and my OH weary immediately said. That's ridiculous - I have never owned a ** coloured car of the ** make. In fact, at the time she is accusing me of, I was driving a (insert completely different) car"

Now I am worried the police will go back to her, tell her this and she will say "Oh yes -I forgot - it was that type and colour of car" and change her statement.
Then where will that leave my weary? He will basically have given her the credence to her lie

[Franticwithworry]

Your husband's situation sounds very much like ours. Please, don't tie yourself up in knots with 'shoulda/coulda/woulda's'. What's none is done and there will likely be other things, other discrepancies come to light that he can keep quiet about and only let his solicitor know about.

Your husbands reactions were those of an innocent man, and if her story does gets changed, that will be noted by your solicitor and dealt with appropriately. It's all a learning process, and none of us got a manual for how to deal with this.