Hi i'm hoping to get some support & advice from you guys, even just to talk will help

[Heartbroken]

My dad was convicted of rape and sentenced to 11 years in prison 5 months ago, he is innocent & did a polygraph test to proove his innocence to his family(before he was convicted),which we knew could'nt be used in court, a 16 year old girl cried rape after she consented & instiguated a so called relationship with my father, although he is guilty of bein very stupid for allowing this to happen! she accused him of rape over a 3 year period dating back to when she was 13 years old(although they had sex over 2 months after she was 16 which he admitted straight away), he wasn't found guilty of these charges just of rape when she was 15 & 16. He has just been to appeal & his sentence will stay the same as they say now that it was too lenient & he should have got at least 15 years!I'm devastated , the one person who i looked up to in life has been taken away from me leaving a huge hole in my life, i just feel so lost at the moment & don't know where to go from here.....

[mark]

i am truly sory to hear this,try to gather any evidance at all,txt,video,letters anything at from her.keep trying to get him free by talking to professional people,ie specialist soliciters etc etc.
these people can help,and if you try hard enough maybe there is a way of getting him released.
keep at it is the main thing,i dont subscribe to all these people saying there is nothing you can do,if the facts are there they cannot be disputed. all the very best mate,i wish you all the luck in the world.

[Heartbroken]

Thank you Mark, it's a terrible time for us all & i'm only just coping with everyday things but i am doing everything i can , he is in the process of changing his legal team as we should have had top solicitors from the start! Nobody tells you this & it seems now he's wasted the 8 months whilst on bail & another 5 months by waiting for this farce of an appeal to go to court then be thrown out. The worst thing of all is the fact he is considered a danger to my children & is not allowed to see ,write or speak to them which is prooving very hard , they don't even know WHY he's in prison. The polygraph tester said he would stand by my dad & do anything within his powers to help if wrongly convicted but that seems to have been all talk as now he says he stands by his results ,but can't help further at this present time,not what i wanted to hear & feel cheated really , my dad was 100% truthful when asked the relevant questions which obviously related to the charges against him but this counts for nothing,i have however managed to get a copy of the polygraph to the girls mother ,i doubt she will make much of it but she had to know this had been taken & you never know ...... alot of my time is focused on sorting through his things & trying to get his house on the market , we're waiting for power of attorney at the mo, sorry if this is a bit of a rant , i will continue to battle for his release , until we get decent legal representation i can't do alot more other than research & taking advice from anybody thats willing to give it, thanks again mark.

[Rights Fighter]

If your dad has not been convicted then what is it that he has appealed?

[Heartbroken]

he was convicted 5 months ago & sentenced to 11 years

[Rights Fighter]

The polygraph tester said he would stand by my dad & do anything within his powers to help if wrongly convicted but that seems to have been all talk as now he says he stands by his results ,but can't help further at this present time,not what i wanted to hear & feel cheated really , my dad was 100% truthful when asked the relevant questions which obviously related to the charges against him but this counts for nothing,i have however managed to get a copy of the polygraph to the girls mother

You said in the above extract "if wrongly convicted" hence my question.

You said the expert said he would stand by your dad etc but now he only stands by his results. What were the results that he is standing by? Do they concur with your dad's protestations of innocence or what?

[Heartbroken]

my dad was tested by this professional before his trial & he was found to be 100% telling the truth , no deception detected,his questions were set relating to the 7 charges against him, the main question being did the "so called victim "consent . He was later found guilty of 4 charges & not guilty of the other 3 dating back to when this girl was 13 years old, the jury came back with a question after just 30 minutes asking what was the age of consent ? the judge had already read through about consent but it was clear from that question that they did'nt understand properly, my dads barrister felt their descision was perverse & included this for the appeal but an appeal on conviction was rejected , he was given leave to appeal on the sentence only, as i said before they said he should have been given 15 years & his sentence stays the same. Going back to the beginning....he took the duty solicitor at the police station not knowing anything about what he was about to go through & now it seems he should have got the best solicitor he could find, he has contacted a firm in london hoping they will take him on . We'll have to wait and see, ive never used these websites before so please be patient with me...

[mark]

try to keep as calm as you can,im sure something will come up you can use to clear your father,tbh i wouldnt take too much notice of the poliagraph tester or the results as they are not used in court/cannot be used as evidance in court.im sory to say this but feel you need to know the truth,and wasting your time on that wont help you.
as i said earlier look for times/dates/texts/letters anything,
try to think of anything you may remember about visits etc etc,
you are very stressed at the moment but in time you will recover certain memories of things that have happend and may well be able to use these,
write everything down this will help.
also try to look after yourself and eat sleep properly if you can,your no good to your dad if you are unwelll.if you are not in controll go to the doctors and get some help yourself.he needs you to be strong. all the best mark.

[Rights Fighter]

Unfortunately trying to find inconsistencies in a case that has already resulted in a conviction will not help an appeal as this evidence would have been available at the time of trial.

Criteria for fresh evidence:

1. It would have been admissible at trial had it been available then
2. It has to be credible and capable of belief
3. It would have had an impact on the jury's decision - ie is central to the allegations
4. 99.999% of the fresh evidence MUST have not been available at the time of trial. In very rare cases evidence that was available, depending on circumstances, will be acceptable to CA.

The Court of Appeal will not re-run a trial using evidence or arguments (inconsistencies) that was available at trial.

The rest of Mark's advice is correct. If you do not look after yourself you will make yourself ill and will be no good to man nor beast. Take a good multi-vitamin regularly and build yourself up for the battle ahead.

At the moment polygraphs are being used in cases such as defrauding DSS and also now in parole applications. They cannot be used at trial at present but I think that that situation will change eventually. They are used in the US and we do tend to follow on from them, although it could be a good few years yet.

[mark]

thanks for putting me right fighter.

[frankgallagherwasere]

Evidence, what evidence? Justice, what Justice? Human Rights Act Article 6 - waste paper bin !!

Sorry to here about you situation but Im afraid its all to common and familiar. RF is quite right in her comments, however since the accused has little to no influence over their defence what chance has anyone?

Yes its an impossible position one is put in, its absurd crazy and beyond belief cos one is given little to no chance of proving their innocent as the defence make sure the crown gets its wicked ways by hiding the true story the true motives and the truth FULL STOP.

I cant undestand how they all get away with it, except that its all politically motivated and whilst the judicial refuse to deliver justice its just as corrupt as the rest as its party to the games they all play via the cronies in the Home Office and Law Society.

I guess we all have to keep strong and believe on day a new government will change the situation when the truth can be told properly and the injustices of so many can be corrected - however somehow I dont think that will happen as its too financially beneficial to all parties concerned !!!!!

Why do you think so many take deals and plead quilty if only to hope to get out sooner - they give up their rights to justice just for a lesser sentence - thats what this country offers in its way of justice and defence under illegal aid !!

If the Police cant catch criminals it makes them up thats the reality !! Wonderful created designer criminals - wow what a fantastic idea said Miss Smith................. now what video did my husband want out tonight?