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The following abridged version records a true experience lasting just under a year. Let’s call those involved Janet and John. They previously had a long term relationship. One day, having spent the night with John, Janet tells police John has sexually assaulted her and attempted to rape her. He’s arrested the very next day….
1. John declined to have a solicitor present during interview. BIG mistake which made life hell for him and very nearly cost him his freedom. Have a solicitor present. Non-negotiable. The Police aren’t interested in the truth; they just want a conviction. Do NOT tell or give them anything. Literally anything!
2. Janet of course was believed utterly and without question. John couldn’t do anything about that but could and did write down absolutely every little detail he could think of regarding the alleged incident itself.
3. John then went out and found a specialist solicitor; not the one who did your house conveyance – a SPECIALIST
4. 7 weeks after arrest John went back to local police station with the specialist solicitor thinking this would go away. It didn’t. Because of what he said when he had been arrested. He was committed to magistrates’ court instead. From there 8 months later to Crown Court. During those 8 months John went through every emotion known; went to see his Doctor; lost a worrying amount of weight and was a nervous wreck.
5. Also during those 8 months the CPS didn’t pass over information; 3 times “forgot” to supply copes of Jane’s statements; the friendly policeman expressing his view this was a misunderstanding all along. Fishing in other words. Meanwhile John’s specialist solicitor had engaged the services of a barrister who in turn was vastly experienced in false rape accusations
6. Crown Court – the judge took one look at the evidence, (including Jane’s sworn statement given under oath to the police in which she stated sex had been consensual but John deserved to be punished for dumping her anyway) and threw the case out. The statement that the CPS had been very reluctant to pass over to John’s barrister was the one that won the day
Lesson Learnt Num 1 - if a solicitor had been present right at the start, in his barrister’s view the Police and CPS would have struggled. John had considered the Police to be interested in the truth and justice. They’re not.
Lesson Learnt Num 2 – write it down. All of it – every single scrap of information
Lesson Learnt Num 3 – get a totally specialist solicitor and then a totally specialist barrister
Obviously there is considerably more to this tale than I’ve put here. Volumes in fact. But PLEASE take note of the lessons learnt for the above actually happened.
1. John declined to have a solicitor present during interview. BIG mistake which made life hell for him and very nearly cost him his freedom. Have a solicitor present. Non-negotiable. The Police aren’t interested in the truth; they just want a conviction. Do NOT tell or give them anything. Literally anything!
2. Janet of course was believed utterly and without question. John couldn’t do anything about that but could and did write down absolutely every little detail he could think of regarding the alleged incident itself.
3. John then went out and found a specialist solicitor; not the one who did your house conveyance – a SPECIALIST
4. 7 weeks after arrest John went back to local police station with the specialist solicitor thinking this would go away. It didn’t. Because of what he said when he had been arrested. He was committed to magistrates’ court instead. From there 8 months later to Crown Court. During those 8 months John went through every emotion known; went to see his Doctor; lost a worrying amount of weight and was a nervous wreck.
5. Also during those 8 months the CPS didn’t pass over information; 3 times “forgot” to supply copes of Jane’s statements; the friendly policeman expressing his view this was a misunderstanding all along. Fishing in other words. Meanwhile John’s specialist solicitor had engaged the services of a barrister who in turn was vastly experienced in false rape accusations
6. Crown Court – the judge took one look at the evidence, (including Jane’s sworn statement given under oath to the police in which she stated sex had been consensual but John deserved to be punished for dumping her anyway) and threw the case out. The statement that the CPS had been very reluctant to pass over to John’s barrister was the one that won the day
Lesson Learnt Num 1 - if a solicitor had been present right at the start, in his barrister’s view the Police and CPS would have struggled. John had considered the Police to be interested in the truth and justice. They’re not.
Lesson Learnt Num 2 – write it down. All of it – every single scrap of information
Lesson Learnt Num 3 – get a totally specialist solicitor and then a totally specialist barrister
Obviously there is considerably more to this tale than I’ve put here. Volumes in fact. But PLEASE take note of the lessons learnt for the above actually happened.
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