Can anyone advise ?

[supportiveparents]

After 14 Long months our solicetor called to let us know that my sons case will not be taken any further

we are of course very relieved, however as my son was never charged .....where does that leave us?

we asked the solicetor if my son could take the girl to court for defamation of character, i was advised that it would go in the tabloids, would cost a lot of money and also there would be a tiny chance that a jury would find him guilty

it seems we cant do anything, which really frustrating and upsetting as it was a complete set of lies

the solicetor also said that the case would just sit there, incase in the future anything else came up

im finding it hard to understand this....unfortunarely my son was publicly arrested so he didnt have anonimity

pls help advise us the best course of action

[terrifieddad]

I'm not qualified to offer advice but a read through this forum will tell you that taking any action against a false accuser is not a good idea, as it can rake it all up again and can easily reopen the case with the police and CPS. That is unless you have proof beyond reasonable doubt that the accusations were indeed false. Although defamation is a civil matter and only needs to be proved on the balance of probability, defamation cases are hard to win. Should he lose the case, the judgement of the civil court is enough to at least make the CPS decide to bring charges, and can even constitute evidence in itself at a criminal trial. So unless there is evidence that would constitute proof of lies, usually an admission by the accuser, sadly there is no recourse.

Best thing I can suggest is that he presses for the NFA in writing. Unfortunately the form of words used is highly unsatisfactory and never conceeds the principle of innocent until proven guilty. It is wrong that you should have to feel grateful for it not going to court, but that is how it seems to be. As far as the police are concerned, this goes down as an unsolved crime. A crime has been reported and the alleged culprit has not been brought before the courts.

The sad truth is that you just have to let sleeping dogs lie. It's harsh, but in the absence of solid proof of malice, there is nothing that can be done. Pursuing a defamation suit is unlikely to make things any better and can make things a whole lot worse. If the arrest was so public including the reasons for the arrest, it may be worth contacting your MP. Was it necessary to make the arrest at that moment in that way? If not, a letter to the chief constable could be appropriate. The arrest will never be seen as wrongful or false, as it is perfectly legitimate to arrest someone they have reason to believe committed an offence - especially sexual offences. The report is reason enough. The police do have some discretion over how arrests are conducted and if they can conduct an arrest in a more discrete way, they really should. Bursting into a workplace announcing the nature of the offence, when they could arrest the suspect at home is one example of how not to do it.

[supportiveparents]

I'm not qualified to offer advice but a read through this forum will tell you that taking any action against a false accuser is not a good idea, as it can rake it all up again and can easily reopen the case with the police and CPS. That is unless you have proof beyond reasonable doubt that the accusations were indeed false. Although defamation is a civil matter and only needs to be proved on the balance of probability, defamation cases are hard to win. Should he lose the case, the judgement of the civil court is enough to at least make the CPS decide to bring charges, and can even constitute evidence in itself at a criminal trial. So unless there is evidence that would constitute proof of lies, usually an admission by the accuser, sadly there is no recourse.

Best thing I can suggest is that he presses for the NFA in writing. Unfortunately the form of words used is highly unsatisfactory and never conceeds the principle of innocent until proven guilty. It is wrong that you should have to feel grateful for it not going to court, but that is how it seems to be. As far as the police are concerned, this goes down as an unsolved crime. A crime has been reported and the alleged culprit has not been brought before the courts.

The sad truth is that you just have to let sleeping dogs lie. It's harsh, but in the absence of solid proof of malice, there is nothing that can be done. Pursuing a defamation suit is unlikely to make things any better and can make things a whole lot worse. If the arrest was so public including the reasons for the arrest, it may be worth contacting your MP. Was it necessary to make the arrest at that moment in that way? If not, a letter to the chief constable could be appropriate. The arrest will never be seen as wrongful or false, as it is perfectly legitimate to arrest someone they have reason to believe committed an offence - especially sexual offences. The report is reason enough. The police do have some discretion over how arrests are conducted and if they can conduct an arrest in a more discrete way, they really should. Bursting into a workplace announcing the nature of the offence, when they could arrest the suspect at home is one example of how not to do it.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, it hard to know what to do with all this anger, you are right, i can see that
requesting for NFA letter would that push them to reopen the case

it feels like this will always be hanging over him, nothing that he can do, its so unfair

thank you

[Mr B]

Skimming this thread. I too have & indeed may elect to take action against the FA (the wife). Some basic facts:
[1] You need to prove libel & slander for defamation. Libel in writing, slander verbal. Libel is written evidence that will reduce your standing in the eyes of the public where it is an untrue statement not protected by privilege or qualified privilege.

[2] Qualified privilege is the protection: So in my case a women with a child (the FA) can rely upon qualified privilege in telling other mothers with children that I sexually assaulted our child. For the avoidance of doubt I did not & have been NFA's and cleared by a Fact Finding Hearing. However the reputational damage is done.

[3] Costs - to Serve (following the pre-action protocol for defamation) around 6K. You have to issue a notice to the respondent.
To

• Issue in court very little.
• Court Fees 5% of any damages you are claiming. Say 50K (Court fee 2.5K)
• If undefended you can a default judgement (but this can be challenged only with very good grounds after the fact) & you win.
• If defended you go to full contested trial unless either party gives in.
• If you give in you pick up Respondent costs.
• Trial 70K costs your side (High Court)
• No win no fee costs double to 140K
• Best estimate is 60-65 chance of winning even a very good case.
• Costs will be apportioned be aware you may only get 50% of YOUR costs awarded to the other side (35-70K you might still have to pay).
• Now that is the award

....
[4] Enforcement of the award - well if she / he has no money then forget it. If he/she is housing a child then really forget it. The Court will typically not make a child homeless due to enforcement - you get a deferred charging order on the house until child is 18 then can enforce. In meantime you have to pay your costs....

[5] If you have money for that I am very happy for you. redress is not possible in this country in practice unless you are independently wealthy.

[Rights Fighter]

After 14 Long months our solicetor called to let us know that my sons case will not be taken any further

we are of course very relieved, however as my son was never charged .....where does that leave us?

we asked the solicetor if my son could take the girl to court for defamation of character, i was advised that it would go in the tabloids, would cost a lot of money and also there would be a tiny chance that a jury would find him guilty

Not sure what you mean by the "... there would be a tiny chance that a jury would find him guilty".

He has been NFA'd so there would be no trial.

There are no juries in civil defamation cases as far as I am aware

[Mr B]

AFAIK Defamation is hear before a single Judge...No jury is involved from my understanding.
Mr B

[Rights Fighter]

Plus if it is the accused who is suing for defamation I can't see how he could be found guilty (by a jury or anyone else) of anything in a defamation case in any event as he would be the claimant!!!

[terrifieddad]

Plus if it is the accused who is suing for defamation I can't see how he could be found guilty (by a jury or anyone else) of anything in a defamation case in any event as he would be the claimant!!!

I think the point is that it risks the reopening of the investigation if he loses a defamation case - especially if the judge turns around and says something like "I believe you did sexually assault the defendant." That would definitely constitute new evidence. We have seen similar on this forum from the family courts. The civil courts would carry similar weight I would have thought.

The real question for the OP is: Do the potential positives of victory outweigh the potential negative consequences of defeat? If so, go for it if you can find a no win no fee lawyer willing to take it on. If you can't, then the chances of winning would be slim.

[Rights Fighter]

How on earth would it open up a criminal investigation when it has already been NFA'd? An NFA can only be resurrected if there is fresh evidence.....

.....especially if the judge turns around and says something like "I believe you did sexually assault the defendant." That would definitely constitute new evidence.

A judge voicing an opinion that he believes the claimant to be guilty of the assault (rather than the person being sued) is not fresh evidence

Not sure what you mean by "I believe you did sexually assault the defendant" - do you mean the suspect in the criminal case or the person being sued?

Either way, the judge's opinion is not evidence that could resurrect an NFA

[Mr B]

If I understand correctly the Police will have another look at an investigation that was NFA's IF a Fact Finding Hearing indicated facts were found. I assume (with the usual caveats) that libel would also follow the same pattern.

Why - well the Police are evaluating if they can push from the "balance of probabilities" to the more serious & absolute "beyond all reasonable doubt"...

Mr Robert Peel must be wondering what he did so wrong....
Kindest regards
Mr B

[Rights Fighter]

Freddie Starr attempted to sue his accuser and failed. The judge gave his opinion (wrongly in my view as he was not there to voice his opinion) that he believed Starr to be guilty. There was no resurrection of the NFA and he was left with a £1M bill.......

NFAs cannot be resurrected without fresh evidence or good argument. An opinion is not fresh evidence even if it is that of a judge.

An attempt to sue a complainant is not the same as the finding of facts in a family court setting. It's not about finding facts, although, having said that, I would not be surprised if friends of an accuser attended and stuck their two penn'orth in and added their own allegations, when they realise it's going the wrong way (if it does).

Now that could cause a resurrection of an NFA.

[Lucky]

I think chasing the FA could be a costly mistake.

Sometimes, it is best to let it be, as you did get the result you wanted.

Obviously everyone is in a different position, but you would not want an adverse decision in a civil court, that leaves you with a hefty legal bill.

hope you manage to be able to get that peace to move on.

good luck