FA needing advice and answers

[johnwick]

thanks to those that started this forum and to those that take time to reply and help.
I find myself in this horrible situation, being FA accused. I am now out on bail.
im taking the advice on here of preparing for the worst to avoid panicking (if it's possible to panic any more than i am now)
I have a few questions, hopefully those with experience can answer?

1 I've read you should 'write' out your statement. Does this mean not to type it up on the computer? if so, why? it is a lot easier to add things that you remember later when typing
2 When returing to the police station for bail date, can they legally taje possession of my current phone? (they have my old one) phones aren't cheap so just want to know.
3 is there a link to which are the best solicitors for defending yourself?
4 should i take a solicitor to re-bailing?
5 If i am charged do i have to let my employer know immediately? is this a legal requirement? and is the employer then legally able to just dismiss me just because of the charge?
6 I noticed that some FA were able to prepare a statement before being interviewed and others when being arrested. How/why can some prepare and other's get put on the spot?
7 When going to rebail, can they reinterview me out the blue?

I have more questions, but that's enough for now I think.

[Peter1975]

Hello and welcome Johnwick. I'm sorry you find yourself here.

I can't definitively answer all of your questions but I will have a go and hopefully others will be along to help fill in the blanks. The advice always has to be to get proper legal advice tailored to your case.

1) I assume you have already been interviewed so I don't see why you would need to write out your statement barring a possible re-interview but I see no reason why you shouldn't type it up on a computer just in case. It might come in handy later. You should only provide a written statement on the advice of your solicitor who should check it first.

2) I'm not sure, they can take what they want if you are under arrest or have a warrant but leave it somewhere safe when and if you have to answer bail just in case. Always make sure that you have all information and particularly anything that might be evidence backed up.

3)Yes. There is a stickied thread in the useful info section :

http://www.daftmoo.org.uk/mooforum/f...ul-Information

4)It's not at all unusual for bail to be postponed several times and for rebailing to be done via post or over the phone. The law has also recently changed and police are starting to cancel bail while continuing the investigation. They should let you know in advance if they need to ask you more questions so that you can arrange for your solicitor to be there.

5) It depends on your work , the terms of any contract you might have and whether you need DBS clearance. If you are suspected of CSA and work with young children for instance the DBS have a legal duty to disclose an arrest to the employer, never mind a charge. Your employer may have a policy in place for such an event but gardening leave is more likely than summary dismissal. You should also be aware that social services may become involved if you have children at home.

6) Some are arrested first and some asked in for a voluntary interview under caution and some are arrested when they turn up for the voluntary interview. The duty solicitor would have advised you whether or not to submit a written statement before the interview.

7) See 4. You can never really trust the police.If you have bail conditions that require you to sign every week and they suddenly want to question you I guess you just have would wait for your solicitor.

Have a good look on the site, there is a lot of information here.

By all means prepare for the worst but hope for the best. around 80% of cases are NFA. There is always hope

[Casehardened]

Further down the list of stickies in the section that Peter has linked to is a post that may answer some of your yet unvoiced concerns:

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

[Rights Fighter]

Start a journal outlining when the allegations came to light, and before - the run up to the allegations. This could provide motive.

If you are charged then the legal reps would make a Defence Case Statement. This is not the same as what you say happened or didn't happen - exactly. Defence give a little info (not a lot) as to their case ( that you deny it all), why and what evidence/disclosure they want the CPS to disclose to them.

There won't be any evidence as such disclosed at this stage. If there is a charge you will eventually get the evidence/disclose dripfed to you. You will go through that point by point and make your own comments / contradictions etc. This is called "Proof of Evidence".

Start collecting evidence you think might help now. If the accuser is on social media check their accounts to see if there is any reference to the case or "expecting a windfall" soon etc etc. Screenshot and save it.

[johnwick]

thank you so much for taking the time to read and answer.
i naively thought if i was charged I would have to read out my version of events in court. So I am just writing out what happened so that my defence solicitor would have all the facts to build a defence if needed?
I did see a solicitor and he said that about 7/10 don't get charged and he would be surprised if I was charged, though he said he did get surprised about 10% of the time so 1 out of 10 cases.
Speaking to friends and family is something I would strongly suggest anyone who is FA should do, the thoughts that swarm your mind need to be shared with those who love you and have an objective view.

Like most people I thought if a person went into a police station and said they were raped, it was a fact. Now I am discovering just how much this law is being abused and how people's lives and careers and friendships and relationships are ruined by false allegations. Rape is an awful awful act, and it is important that woman are protected, but I don't think society realises what the stigma and false accusation does to a man's mind and life. All I can say is please get support from those around you and even speak to a councillor. Remember to put one foot in front of the other and deal with one thing at a time, prepare for the worst, but keep your mind in the present.
I have accepted now that no matter what the outcome that my life will never be the same again, all I can do is hope that I will be able to take the positives from this if/when it is over.

Worth mentioning that the woman in my life that I have shared this with have been extremely angry towards the false accuser, while the men I have shared this with have discovered how open their lives are to being destroyed by any one person they've ever had sex with making an allegation.

[Rights Fighter]

Worth mentioning that the woman in my life that I have shared this with have been extremely angry towards the false accuser, while the men I have shared this with have discovered how open their lives are to being destroyed by any one person they've ever had sex with making an allegation.

People they've not had sex with can also make false allegations. They wait a while so that that explains the lack of DNA evidence.

You give your version of events in the police interview. They then go back to the accuser who is likely to change her story if it differs from yours, to fit.

If you are charged, you would get evidence / disclosure and you would go through that, every point and make your comments as and when. This is called the "Proof of Evidence".

We can talk trials later, if you are charged, but one thing at a time at the moment. Hopefully you have a solicitor you feel confident with.

[experience3]

On a lighter note - sorry couldn't resist!

Q: What is the difference between someone who has been falsely accused of rape and someone who hasn't?

Ans: One's idea of foreplay is a drink and a fumble, the others idea of foreplay is sending you for a drink and drugs test before getting a notarized copy of your passport and booking a full Video and sound crew to capture your "special moment" for any court procedings that might be forthcoming!

[johnwick]

[QUOTE=If you are charged, you would get evidence / disclosure and you would go through that, every point and make your comments as and when. This is called the "Proof of Evidence".[/QUOTE]

Is this something that happens at the police station under interview?
Is it standard procedure that they call the accuser back to comment? Do they question the accuser to try get the truth, or to try get their story to fit?
Surely the police are experienced enough to know that there are some people that come in making false accusations, I can't believe that they want to force every allegation into a charge when their judgement & evidence indicates it was consensual?
My friend's experience of the police when they have gone to make an allegation is that they get grilled so hard, they are made to feel like a criminal by the hard line questioning, do they not apply the same approach in these cases with the accuser?

I've noticed in your threads that you seem quite certain that there isn't much a solicitor can do to help till you are charged, tho some seem to advertise that they have a high success rate of helping avoid charges. Is this simply based on the fact that around 70-80% are NFA'd and not the solicitor?

[Rights Fighter]

Paperwork / disclosure does not come through until a person has been charged. There is only a very little amount that is used for interview.

I've known the police to go back to the complainants if the suspect has given a different story or information that changes the allegations, and the complainant then sometimes makes another statement explaining away the discrepancy.

Apparently over 70% of cases are NFAd. Sadly for the genuine victims these do include the guilty. Rather than rely on statistics it's best to start loo king for evidence via people who may have been around at the time, or who know the complainant, or via social networking sites.

I've noticed more and more solicitors setting themselves up as "experts" in defending false allegations. The ones that brag about unlikely wins (and have some odd looking "testimonials") and those that insist that "Queens Counsel" (as opposed to using the bog standard term QC) are the most "highly respected" by Crown courts and Appeal courts, are the solicitors and "legal enquiry agents" or "private investigators" to avoid.

The vast majority of successful trials and appeals are via good experienced legal aid solicitors and bog standard barristers. Having said that, there are some excellent private client solicitors and barristers who are brilliant in very complex cases. Choice is everything.

[experience3]

Johnwick -

A good way perhaps for you to understand it is that you ARE NOT being legally victimised. You are however being POLITICALLY victimised. It is worth understanding the difference to understand the difference. The "Great and the Good" aren't really that up for defending rapists, but they really do like "standing up for womens rights", there are quite a few votes in it, it sounds great in meetings, and someone might throw a bit more money at you.

Witness the recent change to the law on bail. This was largely rubber stamped because journalists who were accused of hacking (by the hundreds) were place don bail for several years even though the sentence had they been convicted was several months. The crucial point here is that the effected persons were journalists and therefore the rule change can be spun as "a champion of free speech/standing up for an independent press" is easier to spin on Newsnight than "sanding up for rapists", moreover there could be some votes in it if you are a politician, and if you are the police, there might be an extra few quid in your budgets for it.

This thinking runs all the way through the system. Whilst various reasons have been put forward for the police position of always believing the "victim" aka complainant, the underlying reason for it is that is you don't you might lose your job or even worse, a few votes.

The really tricky bit about putting all this right is that the easiest way for the powers that be to do so is to come right out and say "we really have made a total fookin pigs ear of this entire thing, mainly by trying to accomodate special interests and get a few cheap extra votes and we are gonna have to go back to the drawing board/OMFG how did we let this mess happen?"

So consequently they are having various enquiries to try and give them cover to change rules that they know only too well do not work at all. the trouble is they then get the reports and their bottle goes (because they might lose a few votes or get their budgets cut, or worse still lose their jobs). This is the reason that the Henriques report was released on the day Trump was elected president, yunno like telling a child "look at that squirrel" whilst you nick their chips.

Hence whilst it is counter-intuitive to believe what RF is telling you as it cannot possibly make sense in the real world, actually she is bang right in this alternative reality.

Rightsfighter - so a "lol" woulda killed ya?

[Rights Fighter]

"Experience3"

Remind me, how many years have you been defending and appealing false allegations of sexual abuse?

I've been doing this for 15 years...... I've been responsible for some NG verdicts due to evidence that I have obtained. I've been responsible for successful appeals where the barrister has said, on exiting the court room "had it not been for [RF] and the hard work she has put in, you would not be in the position now".

I've lost count of the clients who have said the same thing.

Do tell us all of your "experience" in assisting clients in this way. I have my cases documented.

[experience3]

RF what are you talking about - maybe try reading it again?

[Rights Fighter]

johnwick

I do apologise.

I am partly responsible for hijacking your thread and for that I am sorry. I think maybe it might be a good idea to keep posting about your case and we can ignore any further attention-seeking attempts to change the subject.

If you would like advice one-to-one please let me know via this thread, and I will add you as a contact.