SadandConfusedWA Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 (edited) Say girl A and guy B have been in LTR for years. It ended badly with guy B breaking it off and girl A unable to fully move on. Five years down the line, guy B gets engaged to someone else. Girl A then goes to the police and reports guy B as having been physically abusive and raping her repeatedly when they were together (5 years ago). Girl A has no proof. Is guy B in any danger? P.S. Those allegations are 100% false. And this is actually happening to a good friend of mine. He is seriously freaking out and doesn't know what to do. Edited August 3, 2010 by SadandConfusedWA
Raderick Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 Guy B is in danger. It's a he said-she said situation, and in most cases, the jury always sides with girl A unless there are holes in her argument or evidence points otherwise. Either way the man is scarred for life just for the allegations. I read a story a few years ago in which some DAs will pursue chargers against a potential rapist even if he knew that no crime was committed. Yeah, what a world we live in...
JustJoe Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 Unless she has witnesses, proving this would be next to impossible, after 5 years.
jamesum Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 False rape accusations are very common. I dont understand women who do this.
Citizen Erased Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 I hate women that do this. They are the reason so many women don't report they've been raped, and there are far more of them than these fakers. It's pretty hard to prove rape in a relationship. Not impossible but still. I'd say after this amount of time, given he's now engaged, it's pretty obvious she's doing it for revenge.
Author SadandConfusedWA Posted August 3, 2010 Author Posted August 3, 2010 This girl/woman is seirously disturbed with documented psychiatric problems. Should my friend get a lawyer now? He hasn't been contacted by anybody yet. Girl A informed him that she has done this today thorugh en e-mail.
Enchanted Girl Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 Guy B is in danger. It's a he said-she said situation, and in most cases, the jury always sides with girl A unless there are holes in her argument or evidence points otherwise. Either way the man is scarred for life just for the allegations. I read a story a few years ago in which some DAs will pursue chargers against a potential rapist even if he knew that no crime was committed. Yeah, what a world we live in... No, he is not. The legal system isn't that stupid. If she doesn't even have proof that she was raped at all in the first place, then she's not going to get anywhere. @SadandConfused: It doesn't hurt anything to contact a lawyer about it, just in case, although the girl was probably just making threats because she was angry and isn't actually going to do anything.
Kamille Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 This girl/woman is seirously disturbed with documented psychiatric problems. Should my friend get a lawyer now? He hasn't been contacted by anybody yet. Girl A informed him that she has done this today thorugh en e-mail. Yes he should definitely speak to a lawyer. Guy B is in danger. It's a he said-she said situation, and in most cases, the jury always sides with girl A unless there are holes in her argument or evidence points otherwise. Actually, the opposite is true as rape is usually very hard to prove. Victims still lose the majority of rape cases. In the UK, it's a ratio of 1 conviction to 10 allegations. See, for instance this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1580490.stm I read in an academic article that the stats are pretty similar for the US.
Eclypse Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 I'm not sure where you live but anything is possible. Down here in Australia recently there was a big scandal. A man had been convicted of raping a woman on DNA evidence alone. She had been out drinking and passed out and couldn't remember anything having happened. A test was taken and DNA was found from some poor Sudanese chap. This guy said he had never met the lady and he had a rock solid alibi for the night that he was at home with parents but he was convicted on the DNA alone and sentenced to the long haul in prison. A few years later it emerged that the DNA samples had been contaminated (police had his DNA from something unrelated) and that his story had in fact been accurate. The lady didn't even remember him raping her. He was released with a full pardon and apology... but the damage was done. I guess the moral of the story is the justice system can be very unfair when it comes to cases like this and people jump to conclusions. So your friend should get some legal help as soon as possible! But he might be in luck if he lives in Australia, as here people pretty much only get 1 or 2 years if you kill someone, so they might give him a "community based order" or some bs if all he "allegedly" did was bash and rape her.
Author SadandConfusedWA Posted August 3, 2010 Author Posted August 3, 2010 We live in Australia. The problem is my friend doesn't deserve to be dragged through the case or "get off easy". He is the sweetest, gentlest and kindest guy you would ever meet. Our families have known each other for years. He did NOTHING wrong. I am fighting my immediete emotional response to drive over and tell this girl off But this would most likely make things even worse for him.
SassyKitten Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 Things like that do make it so much more of a headache for women who actually have been raped to say the least, which may be why estimates say that only 2% of rapes ever get prosecuted. Only advice I can really give is prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
zengirl Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 FTR: I've never lived in Australia, so I don't know about there. Say girl A and guy B have been in LTR for years. It ended badly with guy B breaking it off and girl A unable to fully move on. Five years down the line, guy B gets engaged to someone else. Girl A then goes to the police and reports guy B as having been physically abusive and raping her repeatedly when they were together (5 years ago). Girl A has no proof. Is guy B in any danger? P.S. Those allegations are 100% false. And this is actually happening to a good friend of mine. He is seriously freaking out and doesn't know what to do. If that timeline is accurate, it's in his favor. Most rapes reported even a few weeks late, without physical evidence, don't have successful conviction rates. Guy B is in danger. It's a he said-she said situation, and in most cases, the jury always sides with girl A unless there are holes in her argument or evidence points otherwise. Either way the man is scarred for life just for the allegations. I read a story a few years ago in which some DAs will pursue chargers against a potential rapist even if he knew that no crime was committed. Yeah, what a world we live in... Actually, the danger of someone pressing charges is much higher than the danger of being convicted. A rape conviction without a rape kit is still rather rare. Actually, prosecutions are fairly rare but the norm if there is an arrest. . . only about 50% of the accused are even arrested. Some of these are likely very real rapes, and generally, most of the false charges I've ever heard of (not all . . . surely) have been thrown out of criminal court or never found their way there. It's civil court where things get murkier for men who are falsely accused these days. (In the days before physical evidence was what it is. . . I'm sure things were different, especially with racism/classicism involved in America, but that's another thousand stories.) Check this out: http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/reporting-rates I do think they focus too much on unreported rapes. I understand why they do (it's mostly to get people to report them, as they should!), but there is also a breakdown of reported rapes here. Generally, having some physical evidence is key. This girl/woman is seirously disturbed with documented psychiatric problems. Should my friend get a lawyer now? He hasn't been contacted by anybody yet. Girl A informed him that she has done this today thorugh en e-mail. He should get a lawyer if he can afford it. Nothing may come of it, but it's a bit like having health insurance---better safe than sorry. Just to find one and have a brief consultation, so he's got someone to contact if anything does come of it. If she has documented psychiatric problems, that's also in his favor. There is still a "put the victim on trial" mentality in the system. Of course where you live matters a lot in how the cases are handled. Where I lived in the States, a woman had to pay a fair amount just to get a rape kit processed. I think that's pretty sick and twisted. Then again, I think fakers are sick and twisted too.
phineas Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 He needs to print the e-mail with all the headers & take it to a lawyer. She may be making it up. In which case he may need to pursue legal action against her (restraining order) because I doubt the crazy will stop with an e-mail.
carhill Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 Say nothing. Contact the appropriate legal counsel. Express the desire to push back in a serious manner against all parties who choose to bring such allegations to public light, including the government. You can sue the government in cases of alleged wrongful prosecution. If the person is innocent, an aggressive offense is the best defense, IMO. I wish him well. The bullies of the world, sane or not, need to get acquainted with a bucket loader and a dead calf
alexlakeman Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 We r not attorneys here so take everyrthing like a grain of salt. With that said I'm going through a simialr situation where it's he said / she said . If I was him I would wait to be contacted by a detective or getting served before calling an attorney; save some $$ . They are not going to issue an arrest warrant for that 5 years ago, without talking to the guy. Just make sure the guy doesn't talk to detectives without an attorney. Remember what they say "Anything you say can AND WILL be used against you....." Good luck to him
txsilkysmoothe Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 Has he maintained contact with woman A? He should not speak or communicate with her in any way. He should save every correspondence from her. I imagine the statute of limitations for rape will permit her to file a complaint even if it was 5 years ago. He can be in trouble in the sense he will have to face this ordeal, suffer the embarrassment and suspicion that comes with it. But it sounds like there is evidence that she isn't mentally sound. The likelihood that he will be prosecuted is fairly low based on what you've described. He should hire an attorney to speak on his behalf. He should not speak to the police alone.
carhill Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 OP, here's some info relevant to NSW regarding victim access to services and legal recourse. In all adversarial dynamics, it pays to know the enemy. http://www.nswrapecrisis.com.au/Information%20Sheets.htm You should be able to direct your friend to similar information for WA. If it is confirmed that the woman has contacted the police, my understanding is they are compelled to investigate. Competent legal counsel can be consulted, at low cost or for free, to confirm or deny this. If the answer is 'yes, they will investigate', I would strongly suggest retaining legal counsel at the earliest opportunity. These types of allegations can materially damage a person, not to mention restrict their freedom, and deserve the strongest response. It's his life we're talking about here.
Author SadandConfusedWA Posted August 3, 2010 Author Posted August 3, 2010 Thanks guys, lots of useful info. I will talk to him tomorrow. I don't want give out too much detail in case she somehow comes on here.
SincereOnlineGuy Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 P.S. Those allegations are 100% false. He is seriously freaking out and doesn't know what to do. People about whom the allegations were "100% false" would not be "freaking out" in any way, shape or form. Be lucky you're not socially tied to the guy.
Chubbi Posted August 5, 2010 Posted August 5, 2010 Thank you SincereOnlineGuy. Not that I know this guy or anything, but still... I am just very, very cautious when I hear about rape allegations, and would try to be objective in every sense of the word. That girl, whether she is seeking therapeutic help or not, must already be going through hell just for putting a rape charge out there. Just saying.
Stung Posted August 5, 2010 Posted August 5, 2010 Guy B is in danger. It's a he said-she said situation, and in most cases, the jury always sides with girl A unless there are holes in her argument or evidence points otherwise. Either way the man is scarred for life just for the allegations. I read a story a few years ago in which some DAs will pursue chargers against a potential rapist even if he knew that no crime was committed. Yeah, what a world we live in... False. Guy B's is in some danger, as his reputation could definitely be tarnished and he is in for some hassle. The allegations will indeed be harmful to him. He should probably retain a lawyer to be on the safe side, and that will cost some money. However, if there is no evidence, no proof, five years have gone by...especially if she is documented as having psychiatric/emotional problems and therefore her word being unreliable...there is virtually no way this would ever even make it to court. I'd be very surprised if charges were even pressed, if this case really stands as the OP has presented it. It's reprehensible what Girl A has done, and it's a shame tactic she's using to make his life harder and make him look bad, but he's in no danger of prison. The burden of proof still lies with the prosecution. The reality is still that it is a difficult process to get serious jail time for actual rapists, not that perfectly innocent men are being yanked off the street and thrown into jail by the thousands, willy-nilly. OP, false rape accusations are a horrible thing, and studies seem at odds about how often they actually occur. Your friend should get a lawyer just to be on the safe side, but also to ask if there is any recourse in his area. In some areas it is possible to file civil suit for damages to his reputation; also I have heard of judges sentencing women who leveled false allegations to jail for perjury.
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