My 15 yr old son has been accused of rape/sexual assault

[Unregistered]

Hi,I would like some advice,my 15 yr old son was yesterday accused of rape/sexual assault at his school along with his 2 friends.

We found this out at 3.30 pm when he came home in tears and told me and his mum that other pupils at his school started hassling him and shouting he was a rapist. 30 mins later there was a phone call from the school saying for him not to be in school tomorrow(now today).
The school says the police have been informed but yet no police have contacted us as yet....we did phone the police after the call from the school but no-one has contacted us back.

We have found out the girl making the accusation turns out to be my partners Brothers step daughter,I would like to mention that my partner or our children have not had contact with my partners family for years as mostly all were trouble makers.

This girl who we dont even know(not seen partners brother for years and he was single back then)has been hassling my 2 sons at school ever since my oldest stepson bumped into his Uncle with my sons. We have found out this girl(and her sister...they're twins)have been following my sons around like lapdogs at school for the last couple of months until today when my lad turned round and told them to leave him alone and they're not related.

One of the girls still being a pain in the arse still continued to follow him where he met his 2 friends who also told her to go away.

This took place at the first break of the morning...by the afternoon he was being taunted/verbally abused by other pupils calling him a rapist,he tried to protest his innocence and went to see a teacher but was told just ignore them and when he asked that if he could phone home he was refused by the school.

My sons wouldn't harm a fly,good at school and bends over backwards to help people, he has enough problems with his confidence as it is after enduring 5 yrs of hell along with the rest of us after having to put up with abusive neighbours(but thats another story)
The school says they don't want to discuss it,the police at the moment are the same and I'm racking my brains out with worry for my sons....his 14 yr old brother still has to go to school tomorrow(today) and is already being taunted and the school says if he is not in tomorrow they would mark it as an unauthorised absence.

Any help would be appreciated

[cs2008]

Hi...was wondering if anyone can give us advice? it was me who wrote the original post.

Ok its been 6 weeks and had heard nothing of whats going on regarding my son,been onto school countless times and nothing,they wouldn't give us the name of any officers who were dealing with it,they still refuse to tell us when or where this was supposed to have taken place.

I got a hold of the school again on Friday just gone and words of taking legal advice and speaking to education authority finally got someone to phone us back.....i now have to take my son to the police station tomorrow where they have said he will be arrested,interviewed then bailed.

We have got a hold of a solicitor and am still trying to find out if he is entitled to legal aid.

also on Friday my partner was in the city centre paying one of our bills(along with our baby in tow) when she was accosted by the accusers mother and daughter and basically her mother was saying we cant prove he didn't do it and that either way they'll get nicely paid from it. was also shouting at my partner that if we report them for this they would say we were intimidating a witness and its there word against my partners....what are we supposed to do?

Also we have found out that the accuser who is not supposed to be at school is actually hanging around the school meeting friends ,smoking cigarettes spreading more lies yet the school says that being as she isn't on school property theres no action that can be taken.

[Unregistered]

re son

Hi Cs, I hope you get this intime, when you take your son to the police station, do not let him be interviewed without a solicitor present, ask for the duty one to be contacted if you do not have one of your own. I am in a similar situation to you with my son who is 16 being accused, he was arrested and bailed (due to go back this friday to answer bail). It is a very scary time for you both but you are not alone there are many people experiencing similar,dont be afraid to ask for support on here or go to the www.pafaa.org.uk (people against false accusations of abuse, they are very friendly and helpfull.

[Rights Fighter]

All defendants are entitled to public funding (legal aid as it is now called) although it seems that this is set to change in the near future.

You need to find a solicitor who specialises in false allegations of sexual abuse - a bog standard TWOC and burglary defence solicitor just will not do.

I will private message you as to what else you can do - this is a public forum and anybody (including police) will see what you write.

[Saffron]

I got a hold of the school again on Friday just gone and words of taking legal advice and speaking to education authority finally got someone to phone us back.....i now have to take my son to the police station tomorrow where they have said he will be arrested,interviewed then bailed.

also on Friday my partner was in the city centre paying one of our bills(along with our baby in tow) when she was accosted by the accusers mother and daughter and basically her mother was saying we cant prove he didn't do it and that either way they'll get nicely paid from it. was also shouting at my partner that if we report them for this they would say we were intimidating a witness and its there word against my partners....what are we supposed to do?

Hi

I don't think the school have handled this in line with "best practice" guidelines at all! From what you have said above, it sounds like you were on the verge of threatening legal action before they finally agreed to give you any details? and as for the accuser hanging around at school when she is supposed to be excluded - well, what if your son did that? I am sure her family would be up in arms about it. Actually, as long as she does not enter school premises, there is not a great deal the school can do, but you can certainlt register your displeasure about it. If the allegede incident has been reported to the police (which I gather it has) she should not be speaking to any mutual friends about it.

You poor partner, being accosted like that by the accuser's family. However, once your son has been to the police station, been arrested and given his statement there will almost certainly be bail conditions applied. These will (again, almost certainly) involve both him and his accuser keeping their distance from each other, and each other's family. It will also mean that if they are excluded (in my day it was called "expelled"!) from school, they will *have* to abide by this. If the accuser then approaches your son again, you should call the police and let them know what has happened.

I would also recommend having a mobile phone with video function handy at all times. that way if you or your partner are approached by the accuser or her family again, you can start filming it. (You will have to warn them that you are doing this, otherwise it will not be admissable as evidence. The threat of them being filmed may make them back off). Are there any witnesses to the abuse your partner suffered, particularly in reference to the accuser's family saying they would get "nicely paid"?? Such evidence could be very compelling in a court of law. Just a thought! Alas, the accuser's mother is right in some respects: as the defendant in this sort of case, your son is obliged to prove his innocence, and the prosecution do not necessarily have to prove his guilt. This goes against the basic tenet of our "justice" system, but it happens nonetheless.

I echo Rights Fighter's opinion that you need to engage a specialist solicitor. We didn't, and it cost us dearly! In hindsight I would happily have sold our home if it meant that my husband would have had decent legal representation.

Finally I would recommend that you make sure you look after yourself. Being the "strong one" is incredibly exhausting, and you will need lots of support. Which of course is where we come in! Feel free to PM me if you would like to talk.

Good luck. I do understand what you are going through.

[Rights Fighter]

In one way I would agree that filming it (with the other party's knowledge) could be a good idea. However they seem to be of the ilk who would think nothing of attacking you to take the phone/camera and put it out of action by stamping on it.

The best thing you can do is to make sure there is always somebody else there who is prepared to act as a witness. What the accuser's mum said could be very helpful and it would be good if you could somehow get her to repeat it in front of a third party. Third party doesn't have to say anything to her and neither do you or your partner, should it happen again.

You don't have to report it to the police but you must use it at trial if it gets that far. As your son was not party to this exchange then he will not be expected to mention it in interview - make sure he does not! If he did, plod will go straight back to the accuser and her charming mother and put them in the picture which will result in World War 3.

They sound a particularly nasty family.

I hope you got my PM.