No Further Action for College Student Accused of Rape
Being accused of
rape
for anyone is extremely distressing, it effects not only the accused but those around them. This was the experience our client had when the police began an investigation following an allegation of rape being made by his first girlfriend at aged 16 years old.
In March 2023 our client was arrested and interviewed
by
Greater Manchester Police on suspicion that he had had non-consensual sex with his girlfriend. This was his first “real” girlfriend and one with which he had his first sexual experiences with. The allegations were made when he decided to end their relationship the consequences of his decision were devastating.
Case Summary
Our client had been at his family home with his parents and sister, his girlfriend came to the home as she usually would and they would spend time together with his family, and also alone in his bedroom watching films and TV. Whilst in the bedroom it was out client's case that they had consensual sexual activity.
The complainant left our client's home at her usual time of 10pm, she was picked up by her mother and returned to her family home.
The relationship continued as normal for a further 6 months, regular contact, seeing each other socially and at each others homes and continuing to have sexual intercourse. However, our client for personal reasons decided to separate from the complainant, he finished their relationship via text message and although he was upset and appreciated that she would be, he did not expect that the consequence of his decision to end the relationship would result in him being arrested at this home address several weeks later.
During the arrest
our client was handcuffed, his phone was seized and he was taken to his local police station to be interviewed under caution. Before the interview he was taken through the procedure of providing his fingerprints and DNA, and also endured a 3 hours wait in a police cell. When the interview took place he was represented by the duty solicitor and advised to provide no comment
answers to the questions asked of him.
Following interview he was released subject to police bail
conditions not to contact the complainant or any potential prosecution witnesses, which included her mother and some mutual college friends.
He remained under police investigation for several months, before he instructed Eventum Legal.
Our Client's Instructions
We were contacted initially by out client's parents, who were facing a mix of emotions from upset and worry through to anger and frustration. They told us how the duty solicitor hadn't been in contact with them since the interview, and the advice received after interview, and prior to our client's release from custody was that he would just have to wait for the police to complete their investigation. Understandably, this is something nobody wants to do when they are falsely accused
of a serious sexual offence.
We arranged a meeting with our client and his parents, we spent time going through his personal circumstances and background to his relationship with the complainant. We discussed the affects this was having on his education at college, his mental health and physical health. Our client had become withdrawn, was suspended from attending college and had lost a dramatic amount of weight due to the stress and worry.
At the conclusion of our meeting we proposed a plan of action to defend our client's case and to improve his current position. This meant taking a robust and pro-active approach pre-charge
to enable him to move on with his life as soon as possible.
Considerations We Gave to This Case:
Firstly, in any case our priority is to improve our client’s position as soon as possible, whilst this may not necessarily mean that the investigation ends it can involve varying or removing bail conditions
enabling their return to work or college and carrying on with everyday tasks as normally as possible. Our involvement often gives our client and their family peace of mind and security, knowing that they have someone fighting their corner, obtaining updates and carefully putting forwards their case. This is important to us especially when we are representing children.
1. Getting our Client back to College:
we liaised with the police and the college to put a suitable plan in place to ensure our client's education was not affected by the investigation.
2. Addressing the no comment interview:
it was our view that our client should have provided an account and put forward his defence during the interview. We would therefore be required to put forward an account and denial as soon as possible.
3. Defence witness evidence:
Surprisingly the police had not contacted the parents of our client, despite them being the adults in the home on the night of the alleged offence. They were of course vital witnesses to the demeanour of the complainant throughout the evening, and of course their son. There were also college friends who would be witness to the relationship between the alleged rape and the allegation being made.
4. Character Evidence:
Our client was of good character, he had never been in trouble at all both with the police or at school. We managed to obtain excellent character evidence statements from various people, including his teachers.
5. Mobile phone evidence:
We were aware that the complaint was made after our client had ended the relationship. We were also aware that since the alleged incident there had been months whereby the relationship was normal and sexual intercourse had continued. Ensuring this information was given to the police was crucial so that they could locate relevant text messages for the defence during the forensic examination of our client's phone.
6. Preventing any further arrests: The consequences of an arrest are devastating, regardless of the outcome of the police investigation a person’s record is no longer clean. For children this can impact their future employment opportunities, ability to travel and obtain a visa, rent a property and also prevent them from following the educational path they wish to.
Guidance issued to police officers is that youth suspects
should not be arrested only where it is absolutely necessary. The aim of this guidance is to prevent the criminalisation of youths however, sadly this doesn’t appear to be considered, and we still experience heavy handed police officers using scare tactics when investigating youths. We ensure that our client was not arrested again, and an agreement was made that any future interviews would be held on a voluntary basis. We are now working with out client to have his arrest record removed, so that his clean record is restored.
7. Pre Charge Representations:
We provided our client's account and defence evidence by way of pre-charge representations. This was a written document which contained a strong denial of the alleged offence, reference to interview questions, identified evidential weakness the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) would have, reiterated our client's good character, and provided witness evidence. This defence bundle was provided to the investigating officer and marked for the CPS reviewing lawyer.
Throughout this case it was crucial that we had an open line of communication with the investigating officer. Our teams
ability to build rapport with the police and have that line of communication is hugely beneficial to our clients. In this case I have no doubt that our specialist and tailored approach gave our client a voice and he was heard by police and the reviewing lawyers at the CPS. We were thrilled this week for our client to have received a decision of no further action. However, we appreciate that the trauma caused and devastation will affect his life for many years to come in various ways.
If you, a family member or friend is being falsely accused of a sexual offence then contact our lawyers
for a free and confidential initial consultation. We will put together a pro-active plan of action for you, with the aim to achieving the best possible outcome.
False allegations are made for various reasons, to bolster family court proceedings, for revenge and sadly for attention. Working with lawyers who witness who understand this and witness this behaviour from complainants first hand is important to enable you to get your case heard.
We Can Help With
Has your case been listed for pre-trial review? Are you concerned about what the hearing may entail? Our team have put together this short fact sheet which provides some guidance as to why a pre-trial review may be listed and what happens in the courtroom. Pre-trial reviews are not always necessary, however in cases which may have complex issues, be anticipated to be lengthy trials, or issue have arisen during trial preparation between the parties, then a pre-trial review is likely to be required. What is a Pre Trial Review? A pre-trial review is exactly what the name suggests, it is an opportunity for the court review the case prior to trial. The judge will ensure that both parties have met previous directions set by the court, and that there is no outstanding issues or reasons which may cause a delay to the trial. If there are any issues that have arisen between the parties they will be aired and the judge, where required, may set directions to the prosecution and defence with the aim being to resolve the problems, and to enable trial to begin and run effectively. Issues that can arise during trial preparation may include: 1. Applications to introduce bad character , this can be of the defendant or any other trial witnesses. 2. Applications to introduce hearsay evidence 3. Problems with witnesses 4. Delays caused by either part, where material should have been served and hasn't. 5. Applications for disclosure of documents which the defence may need and they are being withheld. Do I need to attend my pre-trial review? Yes, the defendant in a case is almost always required to attend their pre-trial review. It can also be useful for the defendant's attendance so that they can remain fully involved and aware of the process and decisions being taken in their case. You will not be asked any questions at the hearing but the judge may wish for you to acknowledge the outcome of the hearing and directions set, particularly if there is work for the defence team to carry out. Will my barrister attend my pre-trial review? You must always be represented at any court hearing. Our team take great pride in our meticulous preparation for all court hearings and your barrister would be instructed to attend your pre-trial review, with a detailed brief which would detail any issues we have with the prosecution or delays that are affecting our ability to prepare for trial. Do my witnesses have to attend my pre-trial review? No, your witnesses do not have to attend your pre-trial review. No evidence will be heard during the hearing, it is to establish readiness for trial only, resolve issues that could potentially cause delays, and to give the court confirmation that the current date listed for trial will be able to remain. How long does a pre-trial review hearing take? How long a pre-trial review hearing takes depends on the nature of the case and whether any issues require addressing by the judge. The court will usually want to process pre-trial review hearings quickly, and in sexual offence or domestic abuse cases the hearings can last anywhere from 10 minutes to one hour. How Eventum Legal can help Our team take a meticulous approach to trial preparation and will always be alert to any issues that could affect your case. We take a no stone unturned approach and we are not afraid to challenge decision of the CPS at hearings before the courts. We have select barristers which we work regularly with when defending sexual and domestic violence cases so you are provided with a strong and experienced team who are dedicated thorough preparation and presentation of your case. If you have a pre-trial review hearing approaching and are unrepresented, or feel that your current legal team are not making the progress required then contact us for a free initial consultation where we will assess your case, circumstances and the future of any court hearings.
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