CPS  - CROWN PERSECUTION SERVICE

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A SYSTEM IN FREEFALL:

Set against a background of increasing pressure to gain convictions, many police officers fail to investigate fully for fear of finding inconvenient truths, which they will then have to pass to a defence team during the discovery process. The CPS are hungry to improve numbers on sexual offences.

Of course it is vital to protect children from abuse, and every effort should be made to provide a safe environment for them. The problem is the rising numbers of innocent men that are only being freed after months or years in prison, for something they didn't do. It's not possible to recover time or a stained reputation. Whereas, a girl making false allegations, gets away Scott-free - no loss of reputation, livelihood, etc. A clear imbalance in the system.

The fact is it is all too easy to put an innocent man behind bars where a blunderbuss serious of charges, often used in sexual assault cases, make it all but impossible to mount a defense with alibis for specific events claimed. Put that together with carefully crafted circumstantial evidence and pick a vulnerable target, then all you have to do is play the Juries emotions. As the statistics show, a Jury will convict on the unsupported word of a girl. There is no need for a witness to an event. Just a story where a man is alone with a girl and there is opportunity. That this will happen to any family man with children at some time is inevitable.

In most cases an allegation grows like a pyramid, once the system kicks in. Unfortunately, at each stage of the process, the allegation grows as it is passed from one person in the chain to another, each adding their own interpretation and filling in the blanks, so to speak.

Where an allegation has been made (which is often the case) by a young girl or boy who may find him or herself in an uncomfortable family situation, perhaps a combination of loneliness, stress from school work, social stresses from friends, or lack of them, not feeling important or feeling ignored. Sometimes just being bored or mischievous, or simply bearing a grudge - the child will often pander to the attention they are suddenly receiving, and sometimes they are simply bunny boilers, out to ruin someone they feel abandoned by...... The case below should perhaps fall to be considered as to the above..... Although, specialist advice will help us to understand, should that be forthcoming.

INJUSTICE:

In this case the girl making the complaint said to begin with that when her mother went out 'the room' her boyfriend would touch her. It was her friends who forced the girl into making the complaint, once she began sending text messages to them.

Some time earlier, the girl had made claims to much more serious events (possibly rape), according to the only school friend giving evidence. This friend also claimed the complainant had said she'd dreamed of making love to the defendant. Later, the earlier claims to more serious allegations were withdrawn. The girl said she was only joking and had made it up.

One issue the press reported, was the sending of Valentines cards to the girl. The defendant had regularly sent such cards over a three year period, with the consent of the mother. Indeed, the mother had encouraged the defendant to send her daughter a card, where the identity of the sender was not in fact disguised. We understand many friends and families send cards to people in this manner, as a boost.

In this case where the mother and daughter both said the last card was inappropriate, why then did they not throw the card away? If I thought a card was bad, I know that's what I'd do, because if you don't like something, you don't keep it. Do you? You would not want anyone to see something in bad taste for example - if you really think it is in bad taste. The only reason for keeping something like this, is if you have another use for it!! But what other use could a Valentines card of questionable taste have?

The NSPCC

Once the subject of her affections had (as it seemed) gone for good ................... The girl appears to have researched the subject via the NSPCC websites ...... having first tried various stories out on her friends, then retracting those stories, it could be that she wanted to learn what is and is not plausible and possibly, how much harm can be inflicted. Is it not strange there was this sudden interest in the subject, since these days schools tell children about sex abuse as part of sex education early on?

There are other websites which offer help and advice to persons with emotional and other difficulties, such as Get Connected, an organisation offering free advice in confidence. If someone has told you their secret and you want to help another person who is suffering as a result, why not contact them. They will pass on what you know without getting you into trouble.

CASE STRATEGY

The defendant was advised by his barrister as to the best way to present evidence. Julian Dale did not want to appear a bully to the Jury when cross examining the claimant. He adopted a very soft and laid back approach, and did not enquire as to a number of issues which would have shown the girl was not the innocent victim she portrayed herself to be..........

PUBLICATION BAN

There was a blanket ban on reporting, by order of Judge Brown. According to Judge Brown, this was to ensure the defendant received a fair hearing, or trial. However, as the trial began, The Argus were on it like a shot. According to some people when they saw this report, it read as if the matter had already been decided against the defendant and was bound to cloud the mind of anyone seeing it. Also, the mere fact it had been reported thus, could have put additional pressure on the Jury to return a verdict of Guilty, regardless or any reasonable doubt.

RISE IN NUMBER OF INNOCENT VICTIMS

A quite worrying statistic, is the number of men freed on Appeal, having been convicted by a Jury of 12 members of the public. Clearly, then the decisions reached by many Juries are flawed. To a high degree it's a game of chance relying on the mood of the jurors and the relative skills or degrees of effort, of the prosecuting and defending barristers.

Even more worrying, is the fact there is no automatic right of Appeal. An innocent man must remain in prison relying on friends and family, and hoping some new evidence will come to light to give any chance of an Appeal. The odds against this happening are hundreds to one against. Which raises the question as to how many innocent men are behind bars with no safety net due to Legal Aid restrictions and funding rules which sometimes steer overworked solicitors to provide a less than satisfactory defense.

Trials are too important to be decided by juries. That is the tagline on films such as Runaway Jury, where it is shown that Juries can be bought. In fact most juries just want to get home as soon as possible. Once elected, the foreman or woman usually steers the verdict to what he or she would like to see. The others simply follow the lead. That is what one juror told us recently, and she is entitled to he opinion.

Ian McEwan's novel 'Atonement' (book cover)

THE SYSTEM

This is a fictional work inspired by a true story, where the names and locations have been changed to protect the identities of the characters. This book reveals flaws in a System, which is geared to gaining convictions, rather than providing support to innocent victims of false allegations, who often spend several years in prison before they are vindicated and sometimes only obtain justice after any prison sentence has been served.

The book offers an insight into several aspects of the British planning and legal systems and shows that once targeted by police or planning officers, anyone can have their lives destroyed as those in authority bring to bear unlimited resources against their victims.

A - Z of Sussex officers

Joe Edwards

Ken Jones

Paul Whitehouse

Sarah Jane Gallagher

Sir Ken Macdonald QC

My life's in ruins, says teacher cleared of having hotel sex romps with 17-year-old pupil  -  4th October 2007

Man freed after six years in jail for double rape because 'accuser was 

a liar' - 16th October 2007 

£20,000 payout for woman who falsely accused her father of rape after 'recovered memory' therapy - 19th October 2007

Another man's life ruined by Bunny Boiler - February 2008

LINKS and REFERENCE

http://community.itv.com/archive/index.php/t-4625.html

http://www.highbeam.com/doc//Big+Brother~C~+BUNNY+BROILES

http://news.viewlondon.co.uk/Ant_haunted_by_bunny-boiler_Craig.html

http://www.people.co.uk/news/headline_pscho--name_page.html

http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/news/housemate

http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CA8CC.htm

The policies of Labour's Harriet Harman, Minister of State for Women, are designed to raise conviction rates is sex related cases, regardless of evidence. This has resulted in many more appeals and innocent men being freed, having been convicted on little or no evidence. It begs belief that such cases are brought, considering the irreversible harm caused to the victim, in these case the person defendant.

In many cases (number unknown) innocent men are rotting in jail, since there is no appeal for them unless fresh evidence surfaces, which may only happen once a bunny boiler repeat offends. Otherwise, there is no justice for men. A point overlooked by Harriet in her rush to up statistics for voters.

Hammer Lane, Vines Cross, East Sussex, 3 March 2004

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