False Accusation from a person with Mental health issues

[LBH2019]

Hi All,

I was wondering if anybody has ever been in a situation where the person making false accusations against you had mental health issues.

I was recently accused of 2 accounts of historic rape against an individual, as someone who has never been in trouble with the police before that was the first major shock but the second and most daunting part was once i attended the police station with a solicitor for a voluntary attendance, and had the accusations read out to me in detail it was shocking to hear the detail she had gone into regarding the alleged offences! she spoke of violence and positions and everything but the locations she had chosen for these crimes to have happened were so implausible i took solace in thinking this would surely exhonerate me as there must surely be CCTV footage to support my claims that i was not at the place when she said i was.

The advice im seeking is if anybody knows if just someones statement is enough to charge a person, cause ive repeatedly asked the police to focus on the second charge which should be able to be corroborated (she claims it happened in a very public place in a busy city location) as false thus proving my innocence in all this but two weeks later and i'm still waiting on tenterhooks to see if they are going to charge me.

My solicitor told me to do a no comment interview as they must prove i was there but i dont understand why it is taking so long for the police to look at the time and date when this is supposed to have happened and see im not even at the location

My solicitor seems very relaxed about the whole thing and thinks this will be a No further action case but im going out of my mind trying to find evidence i can provide to prove i was elsewhere...the police will not tell me the exact date i have been alleged to have carried out this false rape though

there are concerns that the accuser has mental health issues so im worried that they seem to be believing her more than me

[Pond31]

Hi LBH2019

I am going to leave the long answers to others and just deal with the fact that your FA has mental health issues. From my experience, my two FA's had mental health issues, it can be a good and a bad thing. My second FA gave a ABE that was so bizarre and obviously untrue that the OIC knew the case was false. When the file was given to the prosecutor they only took 7 days to decide not to charge me rather than the 7+ months or more which is the norm.

Unfortunately my first FA also had mental health issues and is now trying to use them as an excuse for her actions. The case was NFA'd but she is attempting to sue me for personal injury. I think this was a bad choice of hers because the OIC in her case found evidence that contradicted her statement, in other words she lied, and I can test this in court and prove that she perverted the course of justice. She also committed perjury in an affidavit.

So on one side a FA having mental health problems may be helpful to you if she makes obviously bizarre or false claims however on the other hand the police and prosecution are very sensitive to FA's needs if they have issues.

OK changed my mind, hear is some advice
1) Don't have any contact with your FA
2) If she contacts you record it but do not speak to her or answer messages
3) Keep your telephone, text, facebook, whatsapp contact history with your FA and back it up on the web in case the police seize your phone
4) Write down all you can remember concerning the nights of the alleged events
5) Hire a specialist solicitor who deals with sexual assault and rape cases
6) Seek support from family and friends
7) Keep active and busy
8) You may be angry but don't get drunk and phone the FA
9) Keep an eye on the FA's social media in case she says something that you can use. You can take screen shots, but DON'T CONTACT HER.
10) Stay active here, where you can feel you are not alone


Please note that cases can take many months and even years to be resolved, so don't expect it just to take weeks.

Pond31

[LBH2019]

Thank you Pond31

Hi LBH2019

I am going to leave the long answers to others and just deal with the fact that your FA has mental health issues. From my experience, my two FA's had mental health issues, it can be a good and a bad thing. My second FA gave a ABE that was so bizarre and obviously untrue that the OIC knew the case was false. When the file was given to the prosecutor they only took 7 days to decide not to charge me rather than the 7+ months or more which is the norm.

Unfortunately my first FA also had mental health issues and is now trying to use them as an excuse for her actions. The case was NFA'd but she is attempting to sue me for personal injury. I think this was a bad choice of hers because the OIC in her case found evidence that contradicted her statement, in other words she lied, and I can test this in court and prove that she perverted the course of justice. She also committed perjury in an affidavit.

So on one side a FA having mental health problems may be helpful to you if she makes obviously bizarre or false claims however on the other hand the police and prosecution are very sensitive to FA's needs if they have issues.

OK changed my mind, hear is some advice
1) Don't have any contact with your FA
2) If she contacts you record it but do not speak to her or answer messages
3) Keep your telephone, text, facebook, whatsapp contact history with your FA and back it up on the web in case the police seize your phone
4) Write down all you can remember concerning the nights of the alleged events
5) Hire a specialist solicitor who deals with sexual assault and rape cases
6) Seek support from family and friends
7) Keep active and busy
8) You may be angry but don't get drunk and phone the FA
9) Keep an eye on the FA's social media in case she says something that you can use. You can take screen shots, but DON'T CONTACT HER.
10) Stay active here, where you can feel you are not alone


Please note that cases can take many months and even years to be resolved, so don't expect it just to take weeks.

Pond31

The timing of the accusations couldnt be more damaging if she tried, i'm due to start work with the British Government in May and im worried i will be charged at somepoint before then or this will not have been closed and i will have to inform my new employers of the whole mess and lose my job...extensive checks were carried out on my background to ensure i was suitable prior to offering me the position so this now puts all that in jeopardy and a charge- even if not convicted- is enough for them to refuse to take me on when i am due to start training

I have no contact with the FA and although i am from the same town i have had no contact with here for many many years including during the period she has accused me of the crimes. I just dont understand why the police have not yet looked at CCTV from the city centre on the time and date she has stated to see i clearly wasnt there!! that would instantly prove it is false

[LBH2019]

I also asked my solicitor to ask the OIC for the date when i was supposed to have carried out this act so i can possibly get my work logs to show i was potentially in the office- the officer has refused to tell me the date and instead asked if he can speak to my current employers for the logs - this will mean it becomes known at work as the corporate security team have already advised me they would have to tell HR and my boss before they can pass on the information.

My question is - why wouldn't the OIC tell me the date i'm supposed to have committed this act? how can i defend myself if i don't know when it was supposed to have happened other than a general month!

[Pond31]

The timing of the accusations couldnt be more damaging if she tried, i'm due to start work with the British Government in May and im worried i will be charged at somepoint before then or this will not have been closed and i will have to inform my new employers of the whole mess and lose my job...extensive checks were carried out on my background to ensure i was suitable prior to offering me the position so this now puts all that in jeopardy and a charge- even if not convicted- is enough for them to refuse to take me on when i am due to start training

I have no contact with the FA and although i am from the same town i have had no contact with here for many many years including during the period she has accused me of the crimes. I just dont understand why the police have not yet look CCTV from the city centre on the time and date she has stated to see i clearly wasnt there!! that would instantly prove it is false

Hi LBH2019

If the allegations are years old then the CCTV will most likely be long gone, as due to the data protection act they are not allowed to keep it for ever. If the dates of the accusation are more recent then the police will look at the CCTV but it will take them sometime to do it. The chance that you will be charged are very slim indeed as the percentage of cases that reach court are in single figures and of those less than half result in a conviction. I understand this may effect you new job but unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about that. I would leave informing them to last possible acceptable minute as there is still a chance you case gets dropped before then.

All the TV shows show police officers and prosecutors doing their jobs within hours, days or maybe a week but in reality it will be months or years. So please be patient.

btw even if you have not had contact with the FA for some years you can still look at her social media, as for instance of she said something happened on the 1st August 2015 in Sheffield and you have pictures from her facebook showing her on a beach on Spain on that date.

Pond31

[Pond31]

I also asked my solicitor to ask the OIC for the date when i was supposed to have carried out this act so i can possibly get my work logs to show i was potentially in the office- the officer has refused to tell me the date and instead asked if he can speak to my current employers for the logs - this will mean it becomes known at work as the corporate security team have already advised me they would have to tell HR and my boss before they can pass on the information.

My question is - why wouldn't the OIC tell me the date i'm supposed to have committed this act? how can i defend myself if i don't know when it was supposed to have happened other than a general month!

Hi

The police will not tell you anything in case they say something they shouldn't. They will give you a time period and ask you for evidence to support things. DO NOT GIVE THE POLICE ANY EVIDENCE WITHOUT CLEARING IT WITH YOUR SOLICITOR AS THEY ACT FRIENDLY BUT THEY ARE [B]NOT[B] I REPEAT NOT YOUR FRIENDS.

The issue with giving the police evidence that you were doing x on a particular date, is that they can go back to the FA with this and she will have a chance to change her statement to another date. So don't give them access to your work diary unless you talk to your solicitor first and are willing to risk this happening. if you keep the diary to yourself, then if you case reaches court then the FA will not be able to change the date.

Pond31

[LBH2019]

Thank you

Talking to you is helping, my mental state has been in a pretty dark place the last few days since this dropped on me..

The alleged crime took place in autumn 2017 so im hopeful the data will still be on CCTV to show this cant possibly have happened. And my solicitor says i should allow the OIC to speak to my work for the logs as this could be the definitive proof i was in work when this was all supposed to have happened.

But like you said, im worried she will be allowed to change her story or im going to be incredibly unlucky and she chose a date i cant account for being at work (would mean i worked from home instead)

If that happens it makes her case stronger but still doesnt prove i was at the scene of the crime. Do you think that would still lead to a court case?

[Pond31]

Thank you

Talking to you is helping, my mental state has been in a pretty dark place the last few days since this dropped on me..

The alleged crime took place in autumn 2017 so im hopeful the data will still be on CCTV to show this cant possibly have happened. And my solicitor says i should allow the OIC to speak to my work for the logs as this could be the definitive proof i was in work when this was all supposed to have happened.

But like you said, im worried she will be allowed to change her story or im going to be incredibly unlucky and she chose a date i cant account for being at work (would mean i worked from home instead)

If that happens it makes her case stronger but still doesnt prove i was at the scene of the crime. Do you think that would still lead to a court case?

Hi LBH2019

If the OIC is good they may recognise that the case is bogus and fast track it. It was good you spoke to your solicitor. There is beyond reasonable doubt in criminal matters which is a very very hard standard to meet. So your case like most may not go anyway.

Pond31

[marcus28]

im worried she will be allowed to change her story

can statements be changed? i didn't think so

[Pond31]

can statements be changed? i didn't think so

"I am sorry officer I was confused about the exact date as it was so long ago. I was distressed while speaking to you and have just check my diary and the date I was attacked was X/X/XX"

Pond31

[Peter1975]

can statements be changed? i didn't think so

No and yes - A statement can't be unmade but complainant's and defendants can choose to make another one, if they remember something else for example. If they contradict the one they made previously then they should provide some kind of explanation as to why.

In historical cases, dates can be rather vague and this can be frustrating if your defence is reliant on an alibi but unless the comp has recorded it in a diary or can tie it to an event such as a birthday, the inability to recall a specific date can be seen as irrelevant as 99% of the population lack this ability!

[LBH2019]

Current update

Thanks guys, to give you a quick update of where i currently am with this...

I have given the OIC my works security team details so they can inform them of my whereabouts on whatever day this has been alleged to have happened. I have collated some screen shots of various supporting evidence myself in case it is required such as my skype planner from Oct 2017 that shows meetings i was in, the tools i use in my job that actually document how many events i carried out on any particular day (this shows i was using a job specific tool on x date in Oct 2017, and lastly i have also managed to take screen shots of my mobile location details which AGAIN show i was not at the alleged crime scene at all in the entire month of oct)

What are your thoughts on this, do you think these can be used to prove my alibi and that the FA is lying? on its own maybe each piece is average to good but all together it corroborates exactly what i have been saying

[Peter1975]

It's impossible for us to guess what may happen here LBH and always risky to try and read between lines.

I would say that your alibi evidence will help if there is good reason for her to have pinned the dates down but dates are easy to be mistaken about too and experience tells me they can change.

Have you sought out a second or third legal opinion? This may give you some peace of mind.

[LBH2019]

UPDATE regarding Allegations

Hi All

I would just like to update you on the current status of the allegations against me. I have been informed this morning that 1 of the two alleagations from the FA has been NFA'd and they are now waiting for the police force of the other alleged location (supposed city centre attack) to get back in touch with my solicitor but he believes that since the first allegation has been dropped as they dont believe her then he thinks the police force will likely follow suit with the second more recent allegation she made (especially as this one is the one which was easiest to disprove due to CCTV in the area etc)

although not completely over i still want to thank everyone for helping me through this ordeal

[Pond31]

Hi All

I would just like to update you on the current status of the allegations against me. I have been informed this morning that 1 of the two alleagations from the FA has been NFA'd and they are now waiting for the police force of the other alleged location (supposed city centre attack) to get back in touch with my solicitor but he believes that since the first allegation has been dropped as they dont believe her then he thinks the police force will likely follow suit with the second more recent allegation she made (especially as this one is the one which was easiest to disprove due to CCTV in the area etc)

although not completely over i still want to thank everyone for helping me through this ordeal

Hi Chris

This is up to you but I would contact the investigating officers of the two cases, when you are NFA'd in both, and ask them to open a case of perverting the course of justice against your accuser. I have in my cases as they knew the FA lied to them in the ABE's in both. They simply seemed to want to drop the cases and move on rather than take action against someone they knew had broken the law. FA's need to be punished when they lie.

Pond31