Voluntary Interview and Beyond

[aguycalledbob]

Good morning all,

I’ve this week been falsely accused of rape following consensual sex with someone I considered a friend. I’ve been asked to come in for a voluntary interview and have agreed to do so towards the end of th month. I’ve put together a detailed timeline of the events, and engaged the services of a solicitor to attend that interview.

Since the police got in touch my mental health has declined, I’ve been crying every day, struggled to eat or sleep. I’m going to see my GP as soon as possible.

What I’d like to know is, from anyone who has gone through this already. What to expect from these interviews, and what the steps beyond that might be?

Appreciate any help or guidance,

Bob

[Peter1975]

Hello Bob and welcome to Daftmoo.

I'm sorry that you find yourself here but hopefully we can give you some reassurance that you are taking all of the right steps, you are certainly not alone.

A voluntary interview (VI) is no different to being arrested and questioned under caution except that you can theoretically get up and leave if you wish and the police cannot impose any bail conditions afterward.

Your solicitor will get some disclosure about the allegations and you will speak with them privately before being interviewed which will usually be recorded on DVD - make sure you are candid with the sol before interview , take along your timeline for the sol so they can get a full picture of your history with this ex friend and don't be in a hurry to get into the interview room. The sol should make sure you are ready.

Your options are basically to answer all of their questions or provide a written statement and answer "no comment" but this should be decided with your solicitor before you go in. You could be advised to provide a written statement and answer questions, If you have text messages it may be worth reading them out so they are on tape. Be guided by your sol.

The interview may seem friendly but don't let that fool you and be warned they are likely to cross exam you a bit at some point - ie; call you a liar and ask leading questions. - Don't take this personally, they are just doing their job, Just take your time, keep your cool and try to keep your answers short and to the point. Try not to swear.

Afterwards you will be free to go and it's likely then to just be a waiting game. By way of some reassurance, the vast majority of cases (80%) go no further than an investigation.

You are doing the right thing going to see your doctor. I would suggest gathering some support from trusted friends and family too and try to keep things in perspective. You have done nothing wrong and there is no reason for you to imagine the worst at this stage.

Hang in there Bob.


You might find Casehardened's what happens now useful;

http://www.daftmoo.org.uk/mooforum/s...at-happens-now

[aguycalledbob]

Thanks Peter, I really appreciate the detailed response. I’ve put together a detailed statement and provided this to my solicitor for amendment prior to the interview. I wrote 20+ pages, so assume they’ll want to take slightly less to the interview!

[Peter1975]

You might want to boil that down to some bullet points for your poor solicitor Bob but well done for being so prepared.

Good luck for your interview.

[aguycalledbob]

You might want to boil that down to some bullet points for your poor solicitor Bob but well done for being so prepared.

Good luck for your interview.

Yeah I wasn’t sure which route I was supposed to go down, and the solicitor asked for as much detail as possible! I wasn’t sure what was relevant and what wasn’t, so I just wrote a factual timeline of everything. I’ll see what they come back with next week.

I appreciate your support, thanks Peter

[Train221]

Hello,

So I have been through the process fairly recently.

I was in the same position, and it is hard, I told few friends, and only few members of my family.

The solicitor I had did a great job, and the interview is going to be tough. I'd say sip water throughout. If you are stuck with the question, simply ask what they mean, and they should be happy to clarify.

I handed my phone over. If you have any texts keep them, DO NOT delete them as this will aid your case.

You have done the right thing by going to the doctor, and also, make sure you have people who will support you.

I found the process tough, and I am still struggling even now after my case finished.

[aguycalledbob]

Hello,

So I have been through the process fairly recently.

I was in the same position, and it is hard, I told few friends, and only few members of my family.

The solicitor I had did a great job, and the interview is going to be tough. I'd say sip water throughout. If you are stuck with the question, simply ask what they mean, and they should be happy to clarify.

I handed my phone over. If you have any texts keep them, DO NOT delete them as this will aid your case.

You have done the right thing by going to the doctor, and also, make sure you have people who will support you.

I found the process tough, and I am still struggling even now after my case finished.

Thanks for posting - I had the voluntary interview yesterday. After booking me in and so on, the questioning lasted all of 20 minutes. I provided a prepared statement and answered all questions.

My solicitor said they’d be surprised if it’ll go any further, but it’ll be several weeks before I hear more. So for the moment I’m still in complete limbo, and I’m still assuming the worst despite the facts in my favour.

[aguycalledbob]

So, I’ve survived week 1 post-interview. Needless to say i’m in complete limbo now. My life is completely on hold and I can’t make any real decisions for the future.

I also dread to think how I’m supposed to pay for support if this proceeds to trial, caught between not qualifying for legal aid and not having savings. Particularly as I’d probably need to resign from my job if charged?

Not sure why I’m posting this really other than to reassure others going through this, that these feelings are ‘normal’, even if they consume your waking hours. Stay strong.

[marcus28]

So, I’ve survived week 1 post-interview. Needless to say i’m in complete limbo now. My life is completely on hold and I can’t make any real decisions for the future.

I also dread to think how I’m supposed to pay for support if this proceeds to trial, caught between not qualifying for legal aid and not having savings. Particularly as I’d probably need to resign from my job if charged?

Not sure why I’m posting this really other than to reassure others going through this, that these feelings are ‘normal’, even if they consume your waking hours. Stay strong.

i'm in a similar boat, had voluntary interview and now just waiting. things that helped me are just keeping as busy as possible. try to see a counsellor? i had an appointment with one i had been seeing and she explained the way i was thinking and how it was making things worse. sorry for going off topic a bit here but just read about legal aid, i thought you only have to pay for solicitor etc if you go private? i've never heard of anyone having to pay solicitor costs at court. am i wrong? i hope not.

[aguycalledbob]

i'm in a similar boat, had voluntary interview and now just waiting. things that helped me are just keeping as busy as possible. try to see a counsellor? i had an appointment with one i had been seeing and she explained the way i was thinking and how it was making things worse. sorry for going off topic a bit here but just read about legal aid, i thought you only have to pay for solicitor etc if you go private? i've never heard of anyone having to pay solicitor costs at court. am i wrong? i hope not.

How long have you been waiting so far?

GP referred me to a local mental health service, got an assessment appointment next week but not sure what the value will be as yet. The days are definitely better when I’m busy, I just wake up every day and everything is fine for about 30 seconds until the dread of this comes back over me.

Solicitor-wise, I understood/assumed it as 3 options?

1) Qualify for legal aid (I don’t)
2) Pay for a private solicitor (I don’t have loads of money)
3) Defend yourself in court? (Not ideal)

[Peter1975]

How long have you been waiting so far?

GP referred me to a local mental health service, got an assessment appointment next week but not sure what the value will be as yet. The days are definitely better when I’m busy, I just wake up every day and everything is fine for about 30 seconds until the dread of this comes back over me.

Solicitor-wise, I understood/assumed it as 3 options?

1) Qualify for legal aid (I don’t)
2) Pay for a private solicitor (I don’t have loads of money)
3) Defend yourself in court? (Not ideal)

Who told you that you don't qualify for legal aid Bob? The threshold for not qualifying at all is £37,500 disposable income after deducting an allowance for living costs plus credit cards, mortgage payments etc. There is an online calculator:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criminal...-means-testing

[marcus28]

How long have you been waiting so far?

GP referred me to a local mental health service, got an assessment appointment next week but not sure what the value will be as yet. The days are definitely better when I’m busy, I just wake up every day and everything is fine for about 30 seconds until the dread of this comes back over me.

Solicitor-wise, I understood/assumed it as 3 options?

1) Qualify for legal aid (I don’t)
2) Pay for a private solicitor (I don’t have loads of money)
3) Defend yourself in court? (Not ideal)

i'd definitely recommend going to the appointment, they're there to help. I've been waiting 3/4 months. At first I was worrying a lot as it had been a week and i hadn't heard anything, then I found this forum and read stories of people not hearing for years, so that chilled me out a bit.

[Peter1975]

i'm in a similar boat, had voluntary interview and now just waiting. things that helped me are just keeping as busy as possible. try to see a counsellor? i had an appointment with one i had been seeing and she explained the way i was thinking and how it was making things worse. sorry for going off topic a bit here but just read about legal aid, i thought you only have to pay for solicitor etc if you go private? i've never heard of anyone having to pay solicitor costs at court. am i wrong? i hope not.

Some good advice from Marcus there- a counsellor is never a bad idea - a FA is alien to the brain and we don't know how to process it - keeping busy and carrying on as much as possible is also recommended, certainly by me - Sometimes we torture ourselves unnecessarily - try to just take each step as it comes, the next step might never happen.


Some notes on legal aid;

As above, the threshold for not receiving legal aid at all is fairly high. depending on how much you earn , you may be asked to make contributions which can be fairly steep on their own ( a disgrace - but I digress ) - These are repaid with interest if there is an acquittal.

If you choose to pay privately but still qualify for LA then you will get nothing if there is a trial and acquittal -

If you earn more than the £37,500 disposable income threshold and fail to qualify, you will have some compensation in that you will be reimbursed legal aid rates - which amount to between half and one fifth of what you will have to pay out.

Yes it is bloody unfair!

[aguycalledbob]

Some good advice from Marcus there- a counsellor is never a bad idea - a FA is alien to the brain and we don't know how to process it - keeping busy and carrying on as much as possible is also recommended, certainly by me - Sometimes we torture ourselves unnecessarily - try to just take each step as it comes, the next step might never happen.


Some notes on legal aid;

As above, the threshold for not receiving legal aid at all is fairly high. depending on how much you earn , you may be asked to make contributions which can be fairly steep on their own ( a disgrace - but I digress ) - These are repaid with interest if there is an acquittal.

If you choose to pay privately but still qualify for LA then you will get nothing if there is a trial and acquittal -

If you earn more than the £37,500 disposable income threshold and fail to qualify, you will have some compensation in that you will be reimbursed legal aid rates - which amount to between half and one fifth of what you will have to pay out.

Yes it is bloody unfair!

Regarding the last point, my understanding from reading far too much is that this reimbursement was withdrawn within the last few years, so you get nothing back? In any case, I don’t have it to outlay to begin with, and will definitely be above the legal aid threshold, so not sure where that would leave me!

[aguycalledbob]

Who told you that you don't qualify for legal aid Bob? The threshold for not qualifying at all is £37,500 disposable income after deducting an allowance for living costs plus credit cards, mortgage payments etc. There is an online calculator:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criminal...-means-testing

Sorry, I missed this comment. My understanding was that it was £37,500 income, not disposable income? I’m self employed, so my earnings are relatively high, but so are my outgoings, so I have little in the way of savings. The calculator won’t work on my phone, but will give it a go on the laptop tomorrow. Thanks Peter.