Guilty Until Proven Innocent?

[Deskdiary]

I cannot imagine the mental anguish this poor young man has had to endure for the past two years following an entirely made-up and malicious accusation of rape.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5181277/Judge-slams-police-rape-trial-student.html

Are we getting to the point where there is an assumption on the part of the police of guilt, and that in some cases (I said some - I would have put it in italics if I knew how to), evidence to the contrary is a little inconvenient? It certainly would appear so in this case.

[mikey4444]

Latest BBC link :::

Met Police to conduct urgent review after rape trial collapse

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42365521

[mikey4444]

Very interesting interviews in the above link !

[Gromit]

I wonder how common it is for the Prosecution side to blow its own case apart. Thakfully in this case it did, and a miscarriage was averted.

It is worry that the police did not view the evidence (or possibly viewed it and suppressed it) before pressing charges.

[Gromit]

Thanks for that subsequent link mikey. It does cast doubt on the consealing of evidence as being due to ‘incompetence’.

// the defence had asked repeatedly for the phone messages to be disclosed //

// he had told police about the existence of the messages but "in spite of all that he was charged //

// it was only after they reiterated their request [to see the messages] on the first day in court that the information was made available. //

Sounds more like a deliberate attempt to withhols, rather than a mistake.

[hc4361]

This woman may have had many consensual sexual encounters with this young man, she may have believed she was in a relationship or happy to enjoy casual sex.

All we know for certain is that she reported him to the police for raping her.
The police failed to find, or failed to forward, evidence of their sexual relationship and her willingness for sex.

This does not automatically mean that she lied about being raped. People have been successfully prosecuted for raping their partners, spouses and exes.

I am not stating that I believe that either of them are guilty or innocent of anything - just that on the facts of this case as reported we cannot know.

I cannot understand why the young man didn't tell his barrister about the many texts he received from her.

[pixie374]

Exactly hc. There is no evidence either way. Showing an interest in someone, however extreme, does not mean they can't still rape you.

[Gromit]

HC
// I cannot understand why the young man didn't tell his barrister about the many texts he received from her. //

He did, which is why the defence asked to view the records many times. The boy even alert police to the contents of the texts (which they had) knowing it would prove his innocence (or at least that he was telling the truth), but they ignored the evidence and prosecuted anyway.

// he had told police about the existence of the messages but "in spite of all that he was charged //

[EDDIE51]

I hope he sues the police for negligence.