Hi, this is my first post on here, like many I`ve been reading lots of post without actually posting myself. I just wanted to post to give hope to all the poor people still in limbo. I`ll try not to make this too long.
Last summer my son was arrested and accused of rape after a one night stand outside with a female almost twice his age that he`d just met. He was a bit drunk but could remember things although some parts were a little hazy. After getting dressed, he left her and called at a takeaway for food before going home to bed.
He was then awoken and taken from his mums in cuffs at 4 am. The OIC was so unpleasant to him from start to finish, it was though my son was already guilty but had to convince them of his innocence. She said he`d lured her into a park, hit her, taken her jeans off and raped her (all of which he denied and insisted it was consensual and he hadn`t hit her or undressed her).
Our world was in pieces for months, a friend of hers named him on facebook before it was taken down but the damage was done. Luckily he`s a well known and well liked lad where we live so not one person said/posted anything bad to/about him.
Thank God the local pub had very good CCTV which showed her straddling him on a bench out side and them both kissing before they walked off together ! There were also a number of witnesses who saw all this in person.
After nearly 5 months of hell and being bailed 5 times, he finally got a call from our solicitor in November to say the nightmare was over.
We`re now moving on with life, it`s still difficult at times as I feel so angry that this female and her friend could cause so much heartache but remain anonymous. I also heard at the weekend that his FA said when she found out it was over, "that`s my compensation gone then!". How can you not be angry at that ? Anyway, as I said, we`re moving on, no point dwelling on something we can`t change.
Anyone still in limbo, hang on in there, there is light at the end of tunnel but the waiting is the worse thing.
Another thing, I can`t stress enough how important it is to get the best solicitor possible who specialises in this type of crime. The duty solicitor that we were originally assigned said that my son would definitely be charged and the case go to court. We took advise and contacted a barrister that we`d been recommended and straight away he said he was sure it wouldn`t go to trial. He was right, it didn`t even get to the charge stage. The last time of answering bail, this barrister turned up himself (rather than the solicitor he`d previously sent). The look on the OIC`s face when he realised this guy was representing my son was priceless ! Just one more thing, as it never went to the charge stage, we didn't have to pay a penny.
Hope 2020 brings more stories like this to those still waiting !
Last summer my son was arrested and accused of rape after a one night stand outside with a female almost twice his age that he`d just met. He was a bit drunk but could remember things although some parts were a little hazy. After getting dressed, he left her and called at a takeaway for food before going home to bed.
He was then awoken and taken from his mums in cuffs at 4 am. The OIC was so unpleasant to him from start to finish, it was though my son was already guilty but had to convince them of his innocence. She said he`d lured her into a park, hit her, taken her jeans off and raped her (all of which he denied and insisted it was consensual and he hadn`t hit her or undressed her).
Our world was in pieces for months, a friend of hers named him on facebook before it was taken down but the damage was done. Luckily he`s a well known and well liked lad where we live so not one person said/posted anything bad to/about him.
Thank God the local pub had very good CCTV which showed her straddling him on a bench out side and them both kissing before they walked off together ! There were also a number of witnesses who saw all this in person.
After nearly 5 months of hell and being bailed 5 times, he finally got a call from our solicitor in November to say the nightmare was over.
We`re now moving on with life, it`s still difficult at times as I feel so angry that this female and her friend could cause so much heartache but remain anonymous. I also heard at the weekend that his FA said when she found out it was over, "that`s my compensation gone then!". How can you not be angry at that ? Anyway, as I said, we`re moving on, no point dwelling on something we can`t change.
Anyone still in limbo, hang on in there, there is light at the end of tunnel but the waiting is the worse thing.
Another thing, I can`t stress enough how important it is to get the best solicitor possible who specialises in this type of crime. The duty solicitor that we were originally assigned said that my son would definitely be charged and the case go to court. We took advise and contacted a barrister that we`d been recommended and straight away he said he was sure it wouldn`t go to trial. He was right, it didn`t even get to the charge stage. The last time of answering bail, this barrister turned up himself (rather than the solicitor he`d previously sent). The look on the OIC`s face when he realised this guy was representing my son was priceless ! Just one more thing, as it never went to the charge stage, we didn't have to pay a penny.
Hope 2020 brings more stories like this to those still waiting !
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