My Ex reported me for hitting on her. What's up with that?

[robbyduffy]

Update from friday:

Solicitor asked the court to push back for 5 weeks so we could have time to get CPS to dismiss the case. They agreed on the grounds that it is a poor case developing over an extraneous time period.

Solicitor now asking for more money to sort this so I'm applying for aid. But I was thinking about crowd funding my bills and any money overtarget I would put towards building a site specifically for crowd funding legal cases. But it looks like somebody beat me to it!!: https://www.crowdjustice.com/

[Jinxer]

I might be wrong but is it not the case that a summons must be issued within 6 months of the original offence.

[robbyduffy]

I might be wrong but is it not the case that a summons must be issued within 6 months of the original offence.

No I've read in a few places that sexual assault cases in UK can relate to any point in the past.

I'm not eligible for aid. Even though I'm not working until June (slight misfortune with the onboarding at my next co) I've made too much money in the last 3 months but I've also had a lot of bills to pay If my crowdjustice.com campaign goes live then I would be very grateful if y'all who care about everything I've said about unfair accusations could donate/spread the word.

[robbyduffy]

I'm now shifting the focus of my efforts towards Wimbledon Police and will create another thread about this. The only way this case has got this far is if there has a breakdown in process. I believe that they have wrongly filed this incident as an offense and escalated the matter without adequate evidence or review by state legal professionals, probably in the name of the recent sexual offenses zeitgeist.

[robbyduffy]

Lawyer has pushed court back until next week to ask cps to Review the case with a logical eye. May result in it being dropped. If it doesn’t then It may well be going to trial which may be worth it to see the silly girl dragged into court to see how much time and money she’s wasting with emotionally driven accusations and frivolous use of the legal system.

the cps email address for people in a similar situation: London.magistrates at cps.gov.uk.cjsm.net

lawyer was going to include character references in this but was asking for 1200£ for me in order to include them. In the long term she’s been very supportive and inexpensive and I’ll name her if we fight this successfully.

[2222]

I hope it doesn't go to court, and I agree that it does seem a bit of a sledge hammer to crack a nut. However, if it does go to court, you need to change your approach significantly from the post above. You need to be fairly humble and simply explain your side of the case. You can worry about changing the justice system after you've got off!

[Setmefree3]

Personally I think you are being bullish before things progress further. I hope for your sake that you are found innocent, but as above post, I think that you should reflect on this case!. I hope that with your views, you will post the final outcome of the case, for us all to see.

[robbyduffy]

Update!

It was clear that the prosecution did not review the case as asked. I saw them scanning over our texts on their computers when I was in court. I pleaded not guilty. The trial is set for early July.

They did not offer me a solicitor which is sickening. If I can't get legal aid then I will ask the court for one. If there are issues getting one appointed to me then I feel a duty to expose this unjust process.

I have 'reflected' and think that it's sickening that someone would report their ex for merely touching them. Where first I was concerned what happened to her in July that made her do this, now I can't care because of all the grief this has caused me.

I also have massive problems with the lack of support for people scooped up in frivolous claims. I doubt that people know how easy it is to throw accusations around and how hard it is for people to defend themselves.

[lgfa92]

When sitting in court it's not uncommon to have fairly frivolous cases in front of you - sometimes you do wonder how they have gotten so far through the process.

There is no requirement to have a solicitor but the duty solicitor or legal aid can only help in certain situations. If unrepresented then the court clerk will assist during a hearing to a limited degree but not to anywhere near the same level as a solicitor would. The duty solicitor cannot help with a trial, that would need a legal aid solicitor (or paying for your own).

[robbyduffy]

Well this is my problem. Your ability to fight is based on your bank balance. This is why I think that crowdjustice is the beginning of something beautiful.

[lgfa92]

I would suggest you speak to a solicitor for legal aid.

If you self pay then you may be able to make a claim for some of the costs back.

[robbyduffy]

So it all came to a head yesterday morning, where in front of a court of 3 lady magistrates and a lady prosecutor I argued my case without representation. It is a year after she issued the original statement and 20 months after the alleged incident. After so many requests for reconsideration or indeed any communication from the CPS which went unheeded.

Before the trial:
I had been assigned a lawyer to turn up to carry out the cross examination of my ex because of Section 38 which states that in sex and kidnapping cases it is appropriate to forgo the right for the accused to confront their accuser directly. You can ask that this lawyer be someone specific if the lawyer agrees to help. I asked for ABV solicitors to be assigned because they have been following my case and doing some correspondence for me.

I drafted a statement which I would be required to read/reference when taking the stand.

The investigating police officer did not turn up. This was somewhat annoying because the lack of effort/gravitas given to the situation which was a reflection on the serious of the incident and the impact on the victim.

During the Trial:
The prosecution describe the case as 'serious' and say that their witness will state the truth of the matter which immediately made my skin crawl. They call to the stand my ex. They had made a big fuss about having a screen in place so that line of sight with me was not possible. But my ex declined to have the screen which probably working in my favour.

No surprises in her account, it was very similar to her statement. When asked why she decided to report me she said that she 'knew what I did was sexual assault' and that 'I had no respect for here' and 'must be stopped from touching anyone without consent again'.

But she was mistaken about dates and when my section 38 lawyer questioned her he cornered and discredited her a little bit on this. He also highlighted some banter to show that we still talked about relationships and how we used to be together.

He drilled down on why she reported it so late when she had received what she called a satisfactory resolution at the time when it happened. She said that had been dumped by her fiance and had a sudden urge to hear an explanation/apology directly. She obviously didn't try very hard to talk to me. She spoke very well. I'm not saying she was rehearsed but she was calmly adamant that she was correct and would bat back any use of the word flirty or friendly and try to paint our relationship as purely professional. She chose to remain for the rest of the trial.

Then I took the stand and used my statement to give my version of our relationship and the incident and the fallout. My account of where and for how long I touched her differed greatly. She exaggerated to say I touched her buttock (impossible as we were performing side by side at the time) and I did it for 5 secs (impossible since she also says that she moved away instantly).

The prosecution then asked a few questions mainly drilling down onto wether there was any flirting on the day in question. I gave very short and honest answers. The magistrates asked the same question the police did: Why did you touch her. I said that it's hard to say because it was so long ago. But it was tomfoolery, horseplay/ excitement at it being soon xmas, or a playful acknowledgement of our situation or past together.

I then was given the floor to summarise and all the dozens of monologues I'd written in the 6 months leading to this moment suddenly seemed so irrelevant. They were ranty and retaliatory but I just stuck to the notes I'd made during the trial and focussed on:

How my ex had gone back on her satisfactory resolution because of her unfortunate emotional situation. She'd blocked me from communicating so I couldn't reach her before her report and could have been seen as attempts to pervert the courts of justice after her report.

How her motivation was very spiteful wanting to 'teach me a lesson' and having no idea what the repercussions of my being on a register would be as I work with children and my business and family are in USA. I said that it doesn't matter what her, my or anyone's definition of sexual assault is. It only matters how we interpret the law. The prosecution hasn't even proven that there was touching let alone that it was sexual or not reasonable for me to believe it was consented. I gave 2 possible definitions of sexual touching, where and why. The leg doesn't count but the buttock does. Doing it for a joke doesn't count but doing it for sexual gratification or with the intent to escalate does.

There was no investigation done and some very sloppy interviewing and procedure from the police.

After the trial:
The magistrates return to the courtroom in 15 minutes and say that there are parts of our arguments that agree: That there was touching and that there was no consent.
At this point I was cringing because I thought that they too had misstated the law. They agreed that the main sticking point was the differing accounts in the touching with no other witnesses and deemed the touching was not sexual and I was therefore not guilty. The court goes quiet at that point and my ex was escorted away before I got to walk out. It's hard to know what to say but "thank you, your worships".

All the time I did not make eye contact with her. I was busily jotting ideas in a notepad looking thoughtful. I could tell that she was craning her neck to see me whenever I spoke. We briefly made eye contact outside as she left and saw me being interviewed by a filmmaker who had been following my case for the last 24h. His film will likely air on BBC3 late this year.

The narrative of this doc is partly about the failure of the system to provide support for the accused. It's still absolutely shocking that people are made to pay for help to defend themselves when they are accused. Also it covers how the law will entertain the slightest complaint from a jilted ex lover. A true sledgehammer vs walnut situation considering the number of acquittals. There is always a net negative impact on pursuing these cases. Also how there is a huge risk for the falsely accused that there is defamation and it causes relationship, psychological and career damage to them during and after the trial. God knows I've suffered. It's not my ex's fault but I can't help but feel resentment towards her for instigating this snowball.

Thoughts:
If you're dealing with something like this, definitely have a look at daftmoo the support forum for people accused of assault/rape. One of my girlfriends, who blogs about how she herself was nearly raped by men in the Caribbean, forwarded me there. I am part of the non mono community and anyone in this community will tell you how handling consent is of utmost importance when you are playing with dozens of adults at a party that you've possibly never said a word to before. In fact I've been with another girl who has been assaulted multiple times including being gangraped whilst drugged. The fact that women share these stories with me and feel comfortable being close with me is a testament to my understanding and maturity I think. I did not mention these things about myself in court however! obviously

I'd totally recommend asking for Claire Anderson at ABV. She deals with many of these cases and has a great record. She has a very calming effect and is the best value for a lawyer that you can find. She will also be contributing towards the documentary.

[des8]

Thank you for letting us know the outcome, and congratulations on a successful defence

[Amethyst]

Would you be able to say how much it cost you overall to get through this?

[robbyduffy]

ABV's hourly rate on paper is 250+VAT.

So estimating, the pieces of work they did were:

an initial briefing 1h
reviewing evidence and penning response to police caution 2h
penning response to CPS decision to prosecute (including character references) 2h
Appearance at plea hearing 1h
second attempt challenging CPS decision to prosecute 2h
preparing statement 1h

Court prep was not required (2h)
A court appearance for 3-4h was not required.
Appeal to crown court was not required.
Crown court appearance for 3-4h was not required.

So total work in actuality was 9h = 2250+VAT but in actuality they took pity on my financial situation and the public interest importance of my case and I only paid around 1400+VAT.

If I'd hired them for court it would have been adding 1500+VAT.
Hiring a barrister in crown court is about 4000+VAT I think.