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Woman who cried rape after sex in public toilet walks free from court

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  • Woman who cried rape after sex in public toilet walks free from court

    A 21-year-old woman who made a false accusation of rape in a bid to claim thousands of pounds in compensation escaped a jail term today.
    Sarah-Jane Hilliard claimed Grant Bowers, 19, attacked her following a night out.

    Just over a week after making the allegations in May last year, she contacted the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, hoping to be awarded up to £7,500.


    A jury found her guilty of perverting the course of justice and she was today given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.

    Guilty: Sarah-Jane Hiliard was today handed a suspended jail sentence after she made a false accusation of rape



    Sentencing her at Basildon Crown Court in Essex, Judge Christopher Mitchell said: 'The fact is that false allegations of rape have a terrible knock-on effect.


    'When women who have actually been raped make complaints there is always the background of people like you who have made false allegations and that's why it's considered so serious.'


    During the trial, the jury heard how Hilliard told police she met Mr Bowers at Liquid nightclub in Basildon on July 26, 2008.

    She claimed he shared a taxi with her and a friend, before stopping at Basildon railway station so she could visit the toilet.
    Innocent: Grant Bowers was falsely accused of rape. He described the experience as 'horrendous'


    Hilliard told police she locked herself in a cubicle door and that the next thing she remembered was waking up with her underwear and trousers around her ankles.

    She told officers that Mr Bowers had sent her a text message the next day saying they had 'gone all the way', and it was then she realised she had been raped.

    Mr Bowers was arrested two days later at his father's house and taken to a police station, where he was held for four hours in a cell before being interviewed by detectives for a further two hours. He had DNA swabs taken, as well as fingerprints and mug shots.

    The student, from Basildon, had to wait a week before police told him he wouldn't be charged.

    During the trial, prosecutor Andrew Jackson read extracts from Mr Bower's victim impact statement, which said the teenager sat crying in police custody fearing he was going to prison.

    He told the court: 'This incident has changed him. He speaks of his lack of confidence approaching young women, not trusting them and having trouble sleeping.

    'He was physically sick through worry, constantly teary and feeling like he wanted to cry.'
    Giving evidence during the trial, Mr Bowers told the court how he had met Hilliard at a nightclub and they the walked to the railway station.


    He said once they reached the station toilets, she dragged him into a cubicle and had sex with him. She told Mr Bowers he 'better be there for the baby' if she fell pregnant.

    But police were unable to find CCTV of the pair in Liquid nightclub, as Hilliard had claimed. Her friend told police she had lied and that they had actually been in the nearby Colors club.

    Detectives then trawled through CCTV from that nightspot and found footage of Hilliard and Mr Bowers kissing and holding hands before leaving.

    As soon as they saw the footage, officers contacted Mr Bowers and told him he would not be charged and instead they arrested Hilliard for perverting the course of justice.

    A charge of wasting police time was dropped after she was found guilty of the more serious crime.

    Jacqueline Carey, mitigating for Hilliard, said her client had since been assaulted by two men on her way to work, suffering scratches, and had the word '*****' scratched onto her car.

    Miss Carey said she had also suffered 'extremely unpleasant' comments on Facebook following her conviction last August, saying: 'One wished Miss Hilliard had been raped then she would understand what rape victims went through.'


    Describing her client as 'hard working', she added that she had a number of 'deeply personal issues'.

    'Since her conviction, her relationship with her partner has ceased and a number of friends, due to the publicity, are no longer friends with her.'
    Hilliard, from Basilson, was sentenced to 300 hours of community service and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs.


    Judge Mitchell acknowledged that Hilliard had problems: 'I have come to the conclusion that the doctor is right in saying you ought not to go to prison.'


    But he warned: 'This case is no precedent at all for future cases of women who make up false allegations of rape.

    'You alleged that you had been raped and as a consequence of that allegation, a young man was arrested, held in custody for four hours, interviewed and subsequently bailed.

    'But for six or seven days thereafter he had the concern, the worry, the fear that he was going to be charged with rape when he knew perfectly well that you had consented to the intercourse and that you, on his account, had frankly initiated it.'

    Speaking outside court, Mr Bowers said he had been subjected to verbal abuse and had his house attacked as a result of the fake claims.

    He said: 'The last 11 months have been horrendous. I've lost all my self-confidence and I can't speak to women any more.

    'I don't know why she did it but her lies have ruined my life.'
    His father, Tony Bowers, said he was 'dumbfounded' by the sentence and that his son had had to move out of Basildon.


    He said: 'I'm disappointed because my son was facing up to ten years in prison for rape on the strength of her lies.

    'She has been found guilty of making false allegations and the least I expected was for her to have been given a prison sentence.
    'My son has lost his freedom as a result of this. He cannot come and visit his parents unless it's under the cover of darkness, he's lost his flat and we cannot even know where he is living for his own protection.

    'He is the victim and he has lost his freedom yet she has still got hers.
    'I think she's a very sad girl who needs help. She could have got the professional help she so desperately needs during a stretch behind bars.'

    Detective Sergeant Steve Simmons from British Transport Police said: 'It is such a nasty, life-changing allegation against a young man.


    'Rape is a heinous offence and perpetrators should be brought to justice with the full weight of the justice system.

    'However false allegations of rape are equally heinous. It is not only devastating to the victim but severely damages the credibility of women who are genuine victims of sex offences


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1251201/Young-woman-cried-rape-sex-public-toilet-escapes-jail.html#ixzz0fcckGW83
    And God promised men that good and obedient wives would be found in all corners of the world. Then made the world round .... and laughed and laughed and laughed ..

  • #2
    This was featured on the Anglia TV news as their headline item tonight with the salient points emphasised.

    An interview with Mr Bowers was included who came across in fact as a very personable young man.
    'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger'

    Comment


    • #3
      I always think that at the conclusion of cases like this there should be a warning to all men. Don't get involved in casual sex with a woman you have just met! (particularly if you have both been drinking) Women are always being warned not to put themselves in vulnerable situations. Men should be warned of the same.

      Comment


      • #4
        I don't know about anyone else, but you've only got to take a look at her. Classy....NOT. Anyone who wears their bra like that clearly has no class. I wouldn't mind guessing she's probably one of those whose underwear is visible halfway up to her armpits. Her entire look is an effective contraceptive to me.
        Ugh.

        Comment


        • #5
          ^that's a bit harsh. she is young. showing your bra may well be fashionable or the lace could be part of her top.

          pick her apart for what she has done. not how she dresses.
          "I dreamt I went to the doctor's and she gave me eight minutes to live. I'd been sitting in the f**king waiting room half an hour." Sarah Kane (4.48 Psychosis)

          Comment


          • #6
            Good point Friday.
            Sorry LS, but it would be a dull world if we all dressed alike. I am usually a right scruffbag! Plus I have just cropped all my hair off (Grade 4) and bleached it. Classy? Probably not! Intelligent and kind? Yes.

            Comment


            • #7
              I think the point I was making was, I wouldn't. You've only got to take one discerning look to realise it wouldn't end well. Unfortunately you've only got to visit any nightclub any Friday/Saturday night to see hundreds dressed like her, acting like her, sleeping around like her, and I just look at the drunken idiots who "get lucky" and wonder how it is that we don't have an epidemic of FA claims.
              After all, when we first meet "potentials" the overall look is the first thing which either attracts or repels us. In this case, for me it's the latter and she shouldn't be surprised that I wouldn't have any interest in waving any appendage in her direction. Unfortunately for every one of me, there's 10,000 who would, and a fraction pay the price.
              I'm not saying everyone should dress alike, but when it's all out on display.... And that's not even going into her actions, and I won't mention any jokes about her location.
              You can just look at her face and imagine how warm, intelligent, funny and caring she is. But no way sober I'd bother. I've seen how far wrong it goes.
              Wanna get lucky mate? Er, no, I'll pass, thanks.
              Last edited by LS; 18 February 2010, 06:17 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                It's just a shame most men in this day and age can't say No, and the fact they can't gives women like this carte blanche to make FAs. It would be pretty impossible to do if he hadn't actually slept with her in the first place.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I can see what youre getting at LS, I took one look at the picture and thought she had trouble written all over her. The expression she pulls is one of "I can do anything I like because I CAN" and "I love me, who do you love?"
                  However your tone seemed to be one of bitterness. Unfortunately mate we cant tar all women who appear that way with the same brush, some people genuinely are nice but believe that is an attractive look.
                  I remember as a child there was a middle aged man who lived by himself just around the corner who looked "a little odd" and we were scared of him and callled him a "vampire."
                  In my mid teens I had the pleasure of actually speaking to tis guy and he was great. One of the decent blokes. Unfortunately we stereotype in our society.
                  I understand where your anger comes from and with the case of this girl you'd be right to pigeon-hole her. But we shouldnt be angry, aggressive or judgemental towards everyone with such an image otherwise we'll find ourselves bitter and resentful of everyone.
                  Ironically, my accuser has a very similar persona to one this girl portrays on that photo, but it would be wrong of me to tar all women like that with a tainted brush.
                  Im at a loss for emotion at the moment, im very angry at whats going on and the position ive been placed but if i ask myself am I angry at this girl who has accused me? Yes, but probably not as angry as I should be. I have a degree of sympathy for her because I genuinely believe this girl has mental issues, i know she has suffered some form of abuse in the past and my interest in psychology makes me realise that she has said this for a reason genuine to her. Do i agree with it? No i certainly do not but I do understand she has her reasons for it whatever they may be.
                  A lot of my friends and family are telling me this girl deserves a beating for what shes done, Im of too calm a nature to agree with this. I believe she should spend some time in prison for it. She should be made to pay for it but the violent approach is the "way I roll."
                  Anyway, I feel ive gone off on one here the point im trying to make is there we shhould not to be too angry at any of this as its only going to affect us not the accusers

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Your first sentence was similar to my view, Macdougal. I certainly don't tar every woman/girl as the one who put me in this situation, or yours, but the girl in this article you can tell just by looking at her, she's trouble. It's an arrogance on her face, an insouciance which says, as you did, "I can do what I like" and more specifically "who do you think they'll believe?" Thank God it wasn't her in this instance.

                    I'm dismayed that people like her in the Fri/Sat scenario are given the opportunity to make FA by most men's willingness to "give a sample."

                    I wouldn't say I'm bitter at all. Although there are days when I quite happily pray for a US communications satellite to fall on her house, other days I feel a spell in prison or some sort of preventative therapy - like I was blackmailed into undergoing - should be the very least which she can expect to have pencilled into her future diary.
                    I'd only be bitter if I was forced into situations again, but I've withdrawn from society and life in general, so no one can do me any more harm, but that's me being careful not bitter.
                    Last edited by LS; 19 February 2010, 05:41 PM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      It just came across that way LS. I totally understand your reasons though.
                      I feel quite sad for you that you have had to isolate yourself in this way.
                      I refuse to now. For the first few weeks I hardly left the house and if I did it was because I had to. But I refuse to let these lies get in the way of my life. I wont have it ruin mine and my daughters lives. Although it still could, whilst I have some control over my day to day life im going to continue to lead it in a way that doesnt affect my daughter.
                      Like yourself I am a more weary of things when in social situations and will never again put myself in a position where this could happen again, but I certainly wont lie down and feel my life is over at 24. I suppose in some respects the fact that I have 100% support from everybody that knows me, whether ive known all my life or just several months, enables me to be more positive about things. I'm going to fight to the end to get justice of some kind

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        The aftermath of a false accusation is that one never views female‘strangers’ in the same light again.

                        Apart from the obvious aspect of never allowing oneself to be drawn into a situation where the remotest possibility of another accusation might arise, the natural human trait of trusting and accepting another person at face value has been cruelly destroyed and colours future perceptions.

                        I suppose that if the matter is NFA’d, the mental anguish will diminish quicker than if an unjust guilty verdict has been handed down but I’m guessing here?

                        The other side to the coin is that one is closer to any partners, family, or friends who have been supportive throughout the ordeal so I suppose some sort of equilibrium is restored.

                        Edit: I posted this before I read Macdougal's last post but never mind, it all seems to tie up
                        Last edited by Casehardened; 19 February 2010, 07:46 PM. Reason: addendum
                        'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger'

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Yes, I can empathise with both of your posts, M & C. The difference with me and macdougal is that you've got a daughter who needs you, so her needs are paramount, and you need to keep her from seeing any turmoil. On the other hand, if the worst happens .... I have a child too but the moment I was convicted, my partner ran for the hills after the Social Services told her lie after lie about me, along with the golden nugget that if she stuck around me, our son would be taken into care. That was after a year of bail and being forced to have no contact whatsoever with my child under threat of breaching bail conditions or of the SS acting on their threat.
                          So you need to keep your spirits up for her sake.
                          Casehardened, I spent years working for Agencies and as a result you never make friends - you're always an outsider, there to replace the normal person. The only benefit to this whole matter is that I discovered that "friends" weren't worth the title. Maybe it's the Charge Sheet, but it's still a FA whatever the accusation.
                          The good side is I've discovered my genealogical(?) family to be worth their weight in gold.
                          And I've also met my two MAPPA plods recently, and I still find it hard to regard them with anything not akin to distrust. Maybe there is an upside to this, after all!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            i find it very sad that people judge others based on how they look/dress. there also seems to be a lot of men that believe women dress to impress men. i would propose that many women care more about what other women think of them than what men think of them (me included).

                            both men and women who have casual sex are putting themselves at risk of either rape/violence or false allegations (although any sex could lead to a false allegation). just as you can't tell a rapist from looking at them you can't tell a false accuser from the way they dress/look.
                            "I dreamt I went to the doctor's and she gave me eight minutes to live. I'd been sitting in the f**king waiting room half an hour." Sarah Kane (4.48 Psychosis)

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