Other party wants to drop the allegation of false rape

[mac123]

Hi , my wife has alleged a false rape case against me. I was arrested, had the first interview and currently on bail.

i have come to know that the other party wants to settle this out of court and was wondering if there is a legal way to have the allegations dropped please?

[Peter1975]

Hi Mac123,

I'm sorry to hear this but it's quite common. Your wife really needs her own solicitor. Contrary to popular wisdom, a witness or complainant can't simply withdraw a statement made to police and can only make another one refuting the first and essentially admitting to lying in the first one which could open her up to charges of her own such as wasting police time or the more serious perverting the course of justice.

It's not as simple as that either because the police will have a duty to consider whether a retraction is false. It's very common for example for Mr A to have a skinful and give Mrs A a black eye and she tells the police, only for him to sober up, buy her some flowers and promise he'll never do it again and Mrs A goes back to the police and says she really walked into a door. New laws on coercive control further complicate matters as police will consider whether a retraction has been made under pressure from others etc.

She could simply refuse to co-operate further with the investigation or refuse to appear in court , it's unlikely they will proceed without her but that won't completely clear your name or arrest record if that's a concern, such as for DBS checks.

I hope your situation can be resolved quickly, please keep us updated as it helps others. Good luck.