reporting of rape cases

[dowie]

Saw this BBC article at lunch today and thought I remembered the case, though the article seems to miss out details reported elsewhere:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31930196

The girl in question made a rape accusation, the case was dropped through lack of evidence, the defendant took out a private prosecution against his accuser which was taken over by the CPS and later she tragically committed suicide.

Reading that article alone would make you wonder how on earth the CPS could let this happen, an alleged rapist who they couldn't prosecute through lack of evidence drags his alleged victim through a private prosecution which the CPS then takes over culminating in her suicide.

Ms de Freitas' solicitors asked the CPS to halt the private action but instead the CPS decided to take it over and continue it.

She said she feared her alleged attacker would be free to reoffend, it heard.

Problem is that despite the BBC quoting a tiny irrelevant part of the CPS press release:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/latest_news/eleanor_de_freitas/

'The director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders had described the case as "one of the most difficult" she had seen.'

they have decided to omit the rather more important details - namely that not only was there no evidence of a rape taking place but that there was rather significant evidence that this young lady suffering from bipolar disorder had falsified her account (apparently contradicted by SMS messages and CCTV footage)

However, the evidence in this case was strong and having considered it in light of all of our knowledge and guidance on prosecuting sexual offences and allegedly false rape claims, it is clear there was sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction for perverting the course of justice. This was evidence including text messages and CCTV footage that directly contradicted the account Ms de Freitas gave to the police. This was not assumption based on her behaviour or actions which fall into myths and stereotypes about how alleged rape victims should behave. It was on this basis that we concluded that there was a realistic prospect of proving that the rape allegation made by Ms de Freitas was false, and there was also a strong public interest in prosecuting due to the seriousness of the alleged offence which was maintained by the defendant for some time and which led to the arrest of an individual.

Doesn't seem quite so unreasonable for the CPS to have prosecuted after all, and a note re: the grumbling from some in the police

There has been speculation that the police did not agree with the prosecution for various reasons. However, the police never undertook an investigation into the alleged perverting the course of justice nor did they consider all the material provided to us by the private prosecution. They were therefore not in a position to form a view on whether there was sufficient evidence to prosecute.

Though the CPS press release doesn't go into specifics regarding the evidence some of it has been reported elsewhere.
There was actually footage of her shopping in Ann summers with her 'attacker' the next day hugging and kissing him. She had sent text messages to a friend in the morning saying she's had 'the best sex of my life'.

The whole thing was sparked by her 'harassing' the alleged 'attacker' resulting in him going to the police to report the harassment, which ended up in him spending the night in the cells as a 'rapist'.

The alleged attacker took out the private prosecution because he'd been named and shamed, wanted to clear his name and the police seemingly weren't interested in investigating the false accusations. Also the suicide as a result of the trial might well have been partly down to her not wanting certain things about her part time work as an escort/erotic masseuse being revealed in court.

Doesn't actually seem too unreasonable of the CPS after all, in fact one question that should be asked is why the police didn't investigate the false accusations in the first place. And why is the BBC still seemingly omitting the full facts when reporting the case - sure they can leave the details of her escort work to the daily mail but reporting that the CPS actually had a rather strong case against her would seem to be very relevant.

 

[leaskovski]

I guess this is one of the reasons, names in court cases shouldnt be public knowledge until after the result of said case?

 

[XeNoN89]

I guess this is one of the reasons, names in court cases shouldnt be public knowledge until after the result of said case?

Indeed, the law needs to be changed so that both accusers and accused are protected until a verdict is given.

 

[arknor]

I'm surprised rape happens so often in this country tbh.

almost every week someone seems to get raped in Newcastle city centre

 

[Mynight]

I can see the argument for releasing the defendants name but stories like this makes me doubt it. However I don't know the stats on people proven to lodge fake allegations vs real vs unable to prosecute due to lack of evidence.

Releasing names gives the third option a chance as others may come forward to further the case whereas it was uncertain before.

Maybe a catch all whereas in cases where it's proven false news sites must remove the articles(if online).

This lady despite what's she's done was failed by whom I'm not sure.

 

[ianh]

I feel sorry for her parents and those that knew her but all of this was entirely her own doing, no-one else's although I was a bit surprised to see her dad was on Ch4 news at lunchtime saying someone must be to blame for putting his daughter under so much pressure, and there was - herself.

This lady despite what's she's done was failed by whom I'm not sure.

She was failed by no-one. She lied about being raped and the selfishly chose to kill herself and traumatise those that knew her rather than face up to what she did. Also as a by product she's very probably made it harder for real rape victims to be believed.

 

[Mynight]

She was failed by no-one. She lied about being raped and the selfishly chose to kill herself and traumatise those that knew her rather than face up to what she did. Also as a by product she's very probably made it harder for real rape victims to be believed.

They mention she has bipolar now afaik the symptoms don't include false accusations of rape but knowing that she can swing to a depressed state in an obviously stressful situation. I feel someone should have been looking out for her. This is completely assuming nobody did though it's not always obvious those at risk of suicide .

Completely brought on by herself Im not disputing that but she should really be in jail or serving whatever punishment was due not dead.

I would love to know why people make false accusations of rape. As you say it makes it harder for real victims.

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

The fact that she then committed suicide is unfortunate. However, bi-polar or otherwise, I would still take a false claim personally and would do what it take to clear my name. I think that false claims of any crime should carry a longer sentence than the actual crime, even if it means doing time in a mental health hospital.

 

[dowie]

I'm not quite sure who the family can really blame, if anything the people who should have been looking out for her in the first instance is them.

The BBC article mentions that she stopped receiving rape councelling when the prosecution started... well it is pretty apparent she wasn't raped - I'm not sure we should be giving rape councelling to people because they're now in a mess thanks to having to face the consequences of making a false accusation and worrying about their family finding out about their sex work.

If she still required councelling then perhaps the NHS or her family should have arranged, there was no need for it to continue to be provided from the budget for rape victims when she wasn't one.

 

[D.P.]

Indeed, the law needs to be changed so that both accusers and accused are protected until a verdict is given.

Agreed, makes no sense at all. Incident until proven guilty, except your name gets spread in the news.

Still, many rapists go free.

 

[Meladath]

Agreed, makes no sense at all. Incident until proven guilty, except your name gets spread in the news.

Still, many rapists go free.

Yeah, this is an absolutely massive problem.

The problem is people are too quick to judge. "X accused of rape" means "X is a rapist" to so many people. They read it on the front page of the sun and since court cases take so long and "X was acquitted" doesn't sell as many papers, no one prints it, and even if they did, people AGAIN are still "stained" with the idea of it. Forever ruining the accused reputation even if they did literally nothing wrong.

 

[Zenduri]

The whole situation can be terrible for either party if it's a genuine rape or someone innocently being accused. I would be interested to see the figures of accusations against confirmed/ proved cases/ those proved false and those where they are unable to take it to court for whatever reason.

Sadly, whilst it is a vile crime it is also used in a weaponized form sometimes which detracts from the victim

 

[Orionaut]

They mention she has bipolar now afaik the symptoms don't include false accusations of rape but knowing that she can swing to a depressed state in an obviously stressful situation. I feel someone should have been looking out for her. This is completely assuming nobody did though it's not always obvious those at risk of suicide .

Having had some personal experience of this . both the "Manic" and the "Depressive" experiences can result in serious delusions. (Misinterpretations of reality if you like) under these circumstances I can certainly see how a woman might convince herself that she had been raped even if it was a complete fantasy.

I would love to know why people make false accusations of rape. As you say it makes it harder for real victims.

All sorts of reasons, "Morning after" guilt, revenge, Neuroses etc (See above). If reported cases are anything to go by "Morning After" guilt (After drunken one night stands) seems to be a fairly common one.

 

[platypus]

I think it was right of the CPS to take the case up, but more should have been done to help the girl with her mental illness.

 

[adolf hamster]

the accused needs to have some protection of their identity as well as the accuser, at least until theres either a verdict, or a good reason to publish their name (eg some of the "big" cases with multiple victims).

certainly the press free for all there is at the minute is just horrible, the very idea that a woman can ruin a man with a false rape claim but the man is virtually powerless to stop her without rock solid evidence (which can be hard to come by).

claims like these can put people out of jobs and make it so theyre scared to walk down the street with the eyes of a critical public on them. by all means thats deserved for the true criminals, but not until thats been determined imo.

Tlr the press and public have no place in the law system to punish someone by ruining their reputation until its been proved worthy of being destroyed.

 

[spudbynight]

One of the strongest arguments against capital punishment is that you end up with innocent people being killed. I don't think any potential upsides justify the loss of one innocent life.

Why don't people apply the same thinking in the case of rape. Yes, naming the accused may result in more people coming forward but it also wrecks the lives of those who are innocent and falsely accused. I don't think we can justify destroying the lives of people falsely accused

We also must not lose sight of the principle that we are innocent until proven guilty. This man wasn't a rapist who got away - he is an innocent man. All accused are innocent until such time as they are proven guilty. As innocents the law should protect them not punish them.

 

[arknor]

They mention she has bipolar now afaik the symptoms don't include false accusations of rape but knowing that she can swing to a depressed state in an obviously stressful situation. I feel someone should have been looking out for her. This is completely assuming nobody did though it's not always obvious those at risk of suicide .

Completely brought on by herself Im not disputing that but she should really be in jail or serving whatever punishment was due not dead.

I would love to know why people make false accusations of rape. As you say it makes it harder for real victims.

There's no help from the government for mental conditions basically your left to fend for yourself

GPs don't care they don't even know where to refer you in my experience, Adult services don't care either, I'm on their list somewhere as having a high chance of self neglect.
never get a visit from anyone apart from when I was first diagnosed

 

[platypus]

I think that if mental health had had anywhere near even half the funding of other illnesses, such as cancer research has recently, we'd all be significantly better off.

At least the latest budget is a step in the right direction (£1.25Bn announced for Mental health care), but significantly more needs to be spent on research as well.

 

[Burnsy2023]

I think that false claims of any crime should carry a longer sentence than the actual crime, even if it means doing time in a mental health hospital.

Really?

I wonder if the CPS really understood the MH implications of Ms de Freitas' condition and properly applied the public interest test?

There's no help from the government for mental conditions basically your left to fend for yourself

GPs don't care they don't even know where to refer you in my experience, Adult services don't care either, I'm on their list somewhere as having a high chance of self neglect.
never get a visit from anyone apart from when I was first diagnosed

Unfortunately, this is a story I hear all too often.

 

[Yaayuh!]

I'm surprised rape happens so often in this country tbh.

almost every week someone seems to get raped in Newcastle city centre

I'm surprised that you're surprised.