Voluntary interview - Don't know the accusation!!!

[Smith22]

Hey, so I've had police contact me and request me to attend an interview to answer questions about a complaint made against me.

The story, I drunkenly had a girl come back to mine that I've known for a while. She practically followed me after I decided to leave our group of friends. We were both in relationships at the time. We started kissing and touching and she suddenly got upset. We stopped immediately. She was upset about what she had done and I tried to console her. I really didnt want to see her upset. It all happened in about 3 to 4 minutes max. Fast forward a few weeks and I get hit with this bombshell of having to attend an interview. I am literally in shock as I know that what happened was completely not criminal while it was morally wrong. So I'm now trying to get my head around what would make her go to the police and what fabrication she has said. I'm really annoyed that they would drop this bombshell on me and leave me for over a week until our interview with no hint in what I am accused of.

My main questions are?

Can I rule being accused of rape out as they are in no hurry and font want any forensic analysis done?

Even though I am completely innocent and remember a good account of the night, do I still need to bring a solicitor?

If it comes down to he said she said will it still go to court and potentially ruin my life to have this hanging over me?

Thanks for your time and any help you have to offer.

[Peter1975]

Hey, so I've had police contact me and request me to attend an interview to answer questions about a complaint made against me.

The story, I drunkenly had a girl come back to mine that I've known for a while. She practically followed me after I decided to leave our group of friends. We were both in relationships at the time. We started kissing and touching and she suddenly got upset. We stopped immediately. She was upset about what she had done and I tried to console her. I really didnt want to see her upset. It all happened in about 3 to 4 minutes max. Fast forward a few weeks and I get hit with this bombshell of having to attend an interview. I am literally in shock as I know that what happened was completely not criminal while it was morally wrong. So I'm now trying to get my head around what would make her go to the police and what fabrication she has said. I'm really annoyed that they would drop this bombshell on me and leave me for over a week until our interview with no hint in what I am accused of.

My main questions are?

Can I rule being accused of rape out as they are in no hurry and font want any forensic analysis done?

Even though I am completely innocent and remember a good account of the night, do I still need to bring a solicitor?

If it comes down to he said she said will it still go to court and potentially ruin my life to have this hanging over me?

Thanks for your time and any help you have to offer.

Hello and welcome to Dm, although I'm sorry that you find yourself here.

To answer your questions, ( although I am sure you have already guessed )

No, unfortunately, rape is always going to be a grey area of the law that doesn't require physical evidence to bring charges ( although 80% of the time they dont ) - consent is a particularly difficult area as you can imagine - hence the predicament you find yourself in - infidelity is a very common reason for making false accusations. - Take heart from the fact that this is also a good reason for police/cps to be skeptical


Yes,ALWAYS take a solicitor when speaking to police , your options are basically to either answer questions, provide a written (prepared) statement or both but you will discuss that with the solicitor prior to interview.


The majority of these cases ( That 80%) go no further than a police investigation which can itself take many months, such is the state of our justice system, particularly when other agencies such as schools or social services need to communicate - you may have a while to wait to find out.

He said/She said can often be enough for a court case - But more often it isn't ....That 80% again! You have no reason to lose hope yet and it certainly doesn't need to ruin your life - hang in there.

[Smith22]

Peter thanks for the kind words. The time frame of having to wait around to learn what has been said so I can try and defend myself is hard. I'm also trying to put myself in her mindset to want and destroy someone's life about a complete lie. I'm not a bad person and dont know how or why this has been done to me.

[Peter1975]

I really wouldn't take it personally...

"we were both in relationships at the time.."

I've heard this more than a few times and I would bet a pound that her BF found out...

Very few of such liars are cold enough to send an innocent man to prison and very few of them are convincing enough to succeed.

You have a long way to go before you need to despair, Write it all down, Keep it together. Be cool.

[Smith22]

So had the interview. Took a solicitor along thankfully. I'm being pretty much falsely accused for what happened except for a few things she left out and saying it wasnt consensual and forced etc. I am just praying like crazy that they see common sense. It's so scary that someone can twist what really happened around into a story so much that it comes so close to ruining an innocent person's life.

One curiosity is although my solicitor done a great job. He advised me to give a prepared statement and then answer no comment. I did tell him I have nothing to hide and although some details of leading up to the night, they surely would have to take that into consideration since it was over a month ago and I had been drinking. But he said the statement was so detailed it tackled everything we needed to say and they should see that the FA has no grounds to be believed. Is this line as good or on par with full disclosure?

[Peter1975]

Glad to hear your interview went well.

A prepared statement is a good tactic in the right circumstances, it avoids the pressure of being cross examined by the investigating officer. Sounds like the sol knew what they were doing

[Smith22]

HELP!!!!

This is crazy - nearly 4 years later and hearing absolutely zero from police or my solicitor I have just received an email that there is an arrest warrant issued for me as I failed to attend magistrate court in January. I had since left my address that they seemingly issued a postal warrant or something like that.

How can they wait so long and drop this on me. I am literally broken. I don’t know what to do.

Is there anything to take from the time it took? I can’t believe 80% don’t make it to court but I find myself in the 20% when I am 100% innocent.

Please any advice would be great.

[BooandtheDoo]

Oh my goodness, how awful! I'm so sorry to hear this. regrettably I don't have any advice as I'm here myself looking for some for my stepdad who has just been FA'd. However, what I will suggest is that as this site is very quite nowadays, I found this site: accused.me.uk which had lots of good info, but also you can join their closed Facebook group and post your situation there (Which I've done) and there are many others who could perhaps give you some advice, including one of the main people who is quite clued in with the law etc...

[Casehardened]

What a shock after all this time! I do recollect that another member waited around 4 years for an outcome but normally it's a matter of months.

I'm not sure what the procedure is now, obviously you don't want to be arrested so the magistrates hearing needs to be rescheduled. As you were happy with your solicitor who attended the interview could you ask his advice as how this needs to be done?

I assume that, for a magistrates appearance to take place, a charge must have been brought (in your absence obviously!) and this means you can instruct a solicitor on legal aid, this will give you some reassurance that you're not facing this alone and you will be able to start building a defence.

Again, you may be happy to use the interview solicitor, alternatively there is a thread in the 'Useful Information' section with members recommendations

Specialist solicitors - The People's Concerns: Support & Discussion Forums (daftmoo.org.uk)

[Peter1975]

Really sorry to read this after all this time. Obviously you need to speak to a solicitor ASAP.

Court is a daunting prospect but I have known of many liars that have come apart in the witness box. You will be consistent because you are telling the truth.

I'll have everything crossed for you.

[Smith22]

So a little update to those still checking in on the forum. On a he said - she said case just coming up to 4 years they decided to charge. My court case will happen 5 years after the incident. Probably down to the huge back log in courts due to these cases. The cps is only concerned nowadays to boost convictions in these cases. Pressure from groups and the government have them now preferring to send cases in front of a jury than taking responsibility of the decision themselves. In my case even when there is zero evidence.

I don’t want to worry people with scare mongering but I honestly believe we live in world where in these circumstances men (or women even in some cases) are guilty until proven innocent. And when I say innocent I mean not guilty while still having your reputation ruined. The cps is not interested in justice, the police are told to instantly believe these accusations and in doing so unfortunately the people accused must be not be telling the truth, the tax payer is left funding the bill (other than the

[Peter1975]

Hi Smith22,

Not sure what happened to your post but I'm guessing you tried to use a pound sign and the damn software deleted all the text afterward? I'm afraid I have no idea how to fix that issue, sorry.

Sorry also that you are facing a trial and the stress and grief that goes with it. I have no idea what criteria the CPS use sometimes, it's long been suspected that they have targets to hit and that may be the case here but it would be unwise to assume that the CPS think they have a weak case and are just throwing you under a bus because their stats are under scrutiny.

I'm presuming you have been to both magistrates and crown court for the mode of trial/PTPH so you will have received the bundle. I urge you to try and look at it in the third person, take notes and use any time you have with your legal team wisely, I was told to think of legal conferences as a rehearsal for the trial.

It certainly feels like you are guilty until proven innocent but in reality the jury will be told that 1) they must be sure that there was no consent and 2) they must be sure that you did not have a reasonable belief in consent. It's by no means a foregone conclusion.

There is some advice on here and elsewhere about giving evidence in court but probably the best advice I got was from my legal team was this, a jury find it easier to convict someone they don't like.

Please look after yourself, try to eat well and get plenty of exercise and keep us posted ( if we are still here!)

[Smith22]

Hi Peter, sorry was wondering why it wouldn’t post the full reply. Here it is minus the pound sign.

So a little update to those still checking in on the forum. On a he said - she said case just coming up to 4 years they decided to charge. My court case will happen 5 years after the incident. Probably down to the huge back log in courts due to these cases. The cps is only concerned nowadays to boost convictions in these cases. Pressure from groups and the government have them now preferring to send cases in front of a jury than taking responsibility of the decision themselves. In my case even when there is zero evidence.

I don’t want to worry people with scare mongering but I honestly believe we live in world where in these circumstances men (or women even in some cases) are guilty until proven innocent. And when I say innocent I mean not guilty while still having your reputation ruined. The cps is not interested in justice, the police are told to instantly believe these accusations and in doing so unfortunately the people accused must be not be telling the truth, the tax payer is left funding the bill (other than the 10k I’ll have forked out even with legal aid).




Anyway it’s now time to fight. Ive been so lucky that my partner has stood by me. And one day I hope to show her exactly how thankful I am. Our lives have been put on hold for this time. I have only recently told my family and friends. Thankfully they all know that I am not this monster they are trying to portray. I really am blessed with the support I have.




A lot of key dates and events between now and the court case. Still seems surreal that after 5 years on the back of complete exaggerated lies I’ll have to stand infront on 12 strangers to convince them I am innocent. Hopefully I’ll be able to post a positive outcome or an update between now and then if anything significant happens.




To anyone that may stumble across this in an early stage I’ll say stand tall, open up to the ones you trust and get a good solicitor. Get a specialist in pre charge representation if you can afford (won’t be covered with legal aid but worth it if they can stop what I’ve gone through). Don’t put your head in the sand.

[Casehardened]

Thinking a little more about your situation, I'm wondering what the accuser's role is in this?

Did she prompt the reinvigoration of a moribund case; if not she may be as dismayed as you as having to now appear in court to justify her accusations relating to this event.

It is also possible that the motive(s) for making the accusation in the first place have become less relevant with the passage of time.

[Smith22]

I really don’t know casehardened. At first I felt it was a case of just guilt and lying to her partner got her into a hole she couldn’t get out of but as time as gone on and having some initial disclosures it seems she has a vendetta ( I won’t go into details)

Next week I prepare my defence statement and the prosecutors have to have served all disclosure they feel is relevant by then so hopefully I’ll know more then. I will be asking my solicitor if we know anymore on why it has taken this long. At the PTP hearing both the prosecutor and judge were curious on how a case with little investigation requirements had taken so long to come to court.