Been accused of sexual assult

[Geratful]

Hi, recently I was arrested and taken for questioning, legail aid told me in my situation to communicate or say a not sure comment as accusation was when i was 13-14 am now 21.
I got told that when I was 13-14 and the person making the accusation was 6-7 that I sexually assulted him!.
I never did anything like this, i am waiting to find out what happens next but am a very anxious person and always think the worst.
I don't know what to think or do!

[Casehardened]

Hello and welcome to the forum,

Hi, recently I was arrested and taken for questioning, legail aid told me in my situation to communicate or say a not sure comment

To help members offer the correct advice, do you mean you answered the questions to which you could give an answer or offered 'no comment' to all?

as accusation was when i was 13-14 am now 21.
I got told that when I was 13-14 and the person making the accusation was 6-7 that I sexually assulted him!.
I never did anything like this, i am waiting to find out what happens next

This link to the 'Useful Information' section of the forum will answer some of your questions:

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

but am a very anxious person and always think the worst.

Many members of the forum have either been in your situation or are supporting partners who have so we understand your anxieties.

I don't know what to think or do!

[Geratful]

Most questions were answered and others were a 'not sure'. I got bail, but didn't get told a date or anything I haven't been charged but got told that I could be charged with the assault.
I'm not sure as to how a case can progress considering the accusation was from like 8 years ago and I was 13-14 and never did anything.

[Geratful]

I got told it could take up to 3 months to know anything. Are you allowed to call up and see what is the progress on the case or anything. I haven't yet contacted a lawyer as no charges or anything yet. But I'm confused on my arrest, it was 'Arrest with bail' they were just there to 'have a chat' with me.

[Franticwithworry]

I'm sorry you're so anxious about all this but it's not surprising. I'm glad you've found us here but do you have any friends or family in the real world you can confide in? We are here too with lots of practical advice and as much emotional support as can be mustered.

First of all, please don't let anxiousness get the better of you. Go and get help from your GP if necessary.

If you were bailed you should have been given some paperwork and there should be a date to return on that. Most of these cases don't progress beyond the investigation stage, but some do, and some take less than 3 months and some take much longer. Please try not to fret about that because you have no control over it. The police are never having 'a little chat' with anyone about anything. It's all serious business from their point of view, and they will say anything, pretty much, which achieves their ultimate purpose, and it seems that some of the cases where there is least evidence take longest to deal with. My guess is that those cases with little to nothing to go on are bottom of the list of priorities.

You don't need a solicitor at this point, but there's no harm in sorting one out just in case you need one - being prepared is never bad - and you might find it very reassuring to talk to a solicitor with experience of historic accusations. I know we did. There's a list of recommendations on a sticky on this forum, and if you can't see someone suitable, let is know your area and someone might have someone to suggest.mA solicitor might even be willing to call the police on your behalf to ask about the bail date if you can't see anything on your paperwork, though there's no reason why you shouldn't call them yourself to ask about that. Better to call and ask than miss returning on the correct date, and it's not surprising that you don't remember everything that was said on the day.

In essence, be prepared for this to take a long time to be resolved, and anything less will be a pleasant surprise. Browse the site, as I'm sure you're doing, but don't overdo it; you can drive yourself nuts going over everything again and again.

Don't be afraid to ask questions though. This is a horrible journey but we're here for you no matter how long it takes.

[Geratful]

I never got any paper work or had to sign any, thats why I am confused.
The detectives were really nice about it still, they even swore (in the car ride) and were helpful on if i needed help ect.
I don't know what the next process is aka do they come back to question me more or anything.
Sucks I have been falsely accused, life seems on hold till this is all over now

[Rights Fighter]

I do hope you had a solicitor with you, during the interview. I can't say much else as FWW has said it all!

Hold on in there.

[Geratful]

Ah sorry guys im from Aus didn't realise it was a UK based. My bad, probaly different ways over here. And no I didn't have a solicitor, only called legal aid before hand, as i was by myself and first time arrested and was very anxious and upset and confused. Sucks, doing nothing wrong and hoping for a good life and you get this instead!

[Casehardened]

Ah-ha that explains the different procedures! We obviously can't help with the legalities but of course mutual support is world-wide

[Franticwithworry]

Australia! This really is a world wide issue/problem/phenomenon/whatever-you-want-to-call-it.

As Casehardened says, emotional support is universal, though I'm sorry that this forum won't be able to help much with procedural advice or solicitor recommendations.

That said, I still think that it's a good idea to see if you can find yourself a solicitor with experience in false historical accusations. It may be just as prolific an issue there as here. I also still think that you need to sort out the bail date issue. You'll drive yourself nuts worrying about it. The police said to call if they can be of any help and on this point they can. If you make the call yourself, just stick to the topic in hand - do you have to answer bail and if so when - and don't discuss your case.

Another very good reason for talking to a solicitor is for information on procedure. Your legal system is based on ours, being a British Colony and all, and here the police can only question you again if they have new information to ask you about. They can't go back over old ground, but you need to check that it's the same where you are.

[Rights Fighter]

I've just had a quick Google:

https://aifs.gov.au/publications/tru...lse-allegation

https://mensrights.com.au/

[Geratful]

Thanks for the support.
Does anyone know any sites (worst outcome)for age 13-14 of this matter?
I always think the worst, being innocent is the worst, you still don't know what the world thinks of you.

[Franticwithworry]

It will, be difficult, I know, but it's absolutely essential that you remain positive in order to deal with this properly. You know you are innocent and you MUST focus on that.

There is no information on the internet that I can find that outlines conviction rates and splits it into age groups so far as I know, but from what I can tell, the situation in Australia is similar to the UK.

Here, the vast majority, 80%-ish, of reported sexual assaults are not prosecuted. Of the remainder, around half are taken to trial. Those taken to trial have a conviction rate of 8% or less and of those convictions, only a tiny minority are wrongful/incorrect.

So, at this point, given that you are innocent, there is only a tiny chance that you will get the worst outcome, and that is what you must focus on if you are to get through this.

The vast majority of the time the system gets it right, which doesn't diminish the trauma you are currently going through or the amount of work you need to do to prepare your defence. Occupy your time by doing as many normal things as you can, find yourself an experienced solicitor, sort out whether and when you need to return to the police station to answer bail, write down everything you can think of relating to the person who has accused you and the time around when the accusation supposedly happened and put it in a safe place (don't give it to the police whatever you do), confide in someone so you have someone to talk to if you can, and log in here for support as you need it too.

That's plenty to be getting along with for the time being without dwelling on worst case scenarios. If you find yourself going down that road, ask your doctor for some help with the anxiety.

You don't have to deal with this alone, we are going through it too, even if we are the other side of the world.

[Geratful]

So from my understanding and asking a helpline, I needed to be charged first if there was a bail.
So I don't think the officer knew what they ment when they said 'Arrested with bail' as I never had to sign a thing.

[Rights Fighter]

You do not have to be charged in order to be bailed, only arrested. If they didn't bail you then that means that there are no conditions for you to have to keep to, such as who you can and cannot contact, where you can and cannot go.