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Original poster

John Leslie - AIBU to agree that men accused of sexual assault should have anonymity until charged?

550 replies

FauxFurCoatAndBigKnickers · 19/10/2020 17:17

Having 3 sons myself (and a daughter), cases like this are really worrying as people will always think ‘there’s no smoke without fire’.

I don’t understand why John Leslie didn’t sue the arse off that jibbering imbecile Wright or why Jonsson started the witch hunt then refused to speak out. That was what started off all the rest of the allegations and if, as it seems, he is entirely innocent, it is a disgusting travesty and has totally ruined his life.

Non DM link below:
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/john-leslie-trial-not-guilty-a4572176.html%3famp

OP posts:
gluteustothemaximus · 19/10/2020 20:18

And it's so tiring when people pretend it is confusing for men, or the poor dears were given mixed signals, or she led him on. My children are all under ten and they know when they play that when one person says STOP, or one person is not enjoying themselves, it's over.

Absolutely. And that's why the Tea Consent video is so brilliant.

thedancingbear · 19/10/2020 20:19

He must be really unlucky, to have so many false allegations levelled against him.

Poor sausage.

ItsAlwaysSunnyOnMN · 19/10/2020 20:20

Oh poor John surrounded by all these lying women What bad luck his has had Hmm

No I don’t think the law should change not while so many still have the attitude of what was the woman wearing, drinking, saying, how was she behaving.

Sex offenders will have abused or raped before. Many do not report for fear of how they shall be judged and shame. This allows more to come forward strength in numbers is unfortunately often needed For a conviction

TiptopJ · 19/10/2020 20:20

@Cadent

Having 3 sons myself

Teach your sons not to rape and they should be fine.

The conversation is about false rape allegation though. Not being a rapist doesn't make men immune from a false allegation.

I agree OP. I think all parties should remain anonymous until there is a conviction.I think it might actually help victims of rape if the defence couldn't accuse the victim of wanting to slander the person accused and if it wasn't public knowledge it might give the victim more privacy too.

temproasted · 19/10/2020 20:22

Anthea Turner is on Instagram with full celebration of the 'Not guilty' banner for her friend JL. The comments are almost 100% supporting him and slagging off UJ. It's a horrible read (secretly hoping some of you will go and add some comments) Sad

MuserOwl · 19/10/2020 20:25

@lynsey91

I totally agree with you. John Leslie has had his life ruined by Wright and Johnsson. Why did she never say anything? Horrible woman
Maybe because it was him.
MuserOwl · 19/10/2020 20:26

@temproasted

Anthea Turner is on Instagram with full celebration of the 'Not guilty' banner for her friend JL. The comments are almost 100% supporting him and slagging off UJ. It's a horrible read (secretly hoping some of you will go and add some comments) Sad
They would never print my comments.
jessstan1 · 19/10/2020 20:27

RossiRoo Mon 19-Oct-20 17:32:08
Most guilty rapists walk free, I'm glad they're not anonymous, if it helps just one woman to know to avoid John Leslie like the plague then that's ok by me.
.......
Agreed.

AnneElliott · 19/10/2020 20:30

I disagree that sex crimes should be treated differently from other crimes.

And why do you think Ulrika stayed silent? Was it because she enjoyed seeing an innocent man be hounded? Or the other obvious reason?

And not guilty doesn't mean innocent. Having been a juror I'm amazed anyone gets convicted of anything.

And yes it's interesting indeed that John Leslie didn't sue Matthew Wright. Why on earth would that be I wonder?

DifficultPifcultLemonDifficult · 19/10/2020 20:31

He must be really unlucky, to have so many false allegations levelled against him.

If 50 women accuse one man of rape/sexual assault they are met with claims of 'jumping on the bandwagon' and lying. If one man says 50 women are lying about him raping/assaulting them he is believed and portrayed as a victim.

This is a problem. This is the problem.

Flipflops85 · 19/10/2020 20:33

When you consider the number of unreported rapes - that % of false allegations gets smaller and smaller.

MadameMeursault · 19/10/2020 20:33

@Missandra

I have a better solution. Tell men to stop raping and sexually assaulting women.
John Leslie didn’t rape or sexually assault anyone. And his life is ruined. How would your solution have helped him? 🤦‍♀️
Aridane · 19/10/2020 20:35

Because anything on a phone is completely irrelevant to the issue of consent. You can be as up for it as it’s possible to be, sending nudes and sexting and all sorts. But if you get in his bedroom and suddenly he wants to do something to you that you don’t want him to do - you can withdraw consent there and then. And if he ignores it, he’s a rapist. Whatever you texted to him half an hour earlier means fuck all

But actually if half an hour later, you text to say what an amazing time you had and suggest meeting up again, of course that’s relevant to the defence!

Joeblack066 · 19/10/2020 20:35

Absolutely they should. Innocent until proven guilty is a mainstay of our justice system.

EveryPlanetHasAYorkshire · 19/10/2020 20:36

So @MadameMeursault do you think John Leslie is just extremely unlucky to have so many women accuse him of assault over the tears?

RUOKHon · 19/10/2020 20:37

I don’t even think a rape accusation ‘ruins men’s lives’. I mean, John Broadhurst raped Natalie Connolly to death and just got out of prison after serving only two years in a manslaughter charge because ‘she liked rough sex and she asked for it’.

In August, India Knight’s partner, Eric Joyce, was convicted of viewing and downloading videos of child sexual abuse, including the rape of a baby. He got a suspended sentence of a matter of months and is still happily tweeting his pathetic opinions to a fawning audience.

Even when they’re guilty, they fucking get away with it.

lynsey91 · 19/10/2020 20:38

Strange how some posters say they "work in the business" and have heard rumours about him for years.

I believe the women who spoke about him (Anthea Turner and Diane Louise Jordan) also "work in the business" so presumably would have heard these stories/rumours? Maybe they are not as prejudiced as some of the posters

Pumperthepumper · 19/10/2020 20:39

But actually if half an hour later, you text to say what an amazing time you had and suggest meeting up again, of course that’s relevant to the defence!

Even if he’s your boss and you’re worried, in the heat of the moment, what work will be like on Monday knowing her raped you?

It means nothing. Unless you’re seriously suggesting nobody has ever sent a text to diffuse a situation.

EveryPlanetHasAYorkshire · 19/10/2020 20:39

@ReneeRol

I agree with you, although I'd extend it to all crimes. Innocent until proven guilty, nobody should have their reputation ruined for a false allegation/mistaken identity or whatever.

In this age of the Internet, every employer, neighbour, person you meet can Google you and nobody should have those allegations attached to their name unless proven in a court of law. It puts people's livelihoods and lives in danger.

The attitudes of some people on this thread - that every person accused or charged must be guilty - is exactly why anonymity until conviction needs to be introduced.

Why would someones name be on Google just because they were accused of assault? The man who sexually assaulted me doesn't show up on Google when I type in his unusual name even though I reported him to the police.
EveryPlanetHasAYorkshire · 19/10/2020 20:40

@lynsey91

Strange how some posters say they "work in the business" and have heard rumours about him for years.

I believe the women who spoke about him (Anthea Turner and Diane Louise Jordan) also "work in the business" so presumably would have heard these stories/rumours? Maybe they are not as prejudiced as some of the posters

And some people have met him and have reported he is a sleaze. Are they all lying?
MrsPerfect12 · 19/10/2020 20:41

I've voted YANBU however there have been so many allegations against him, I doubt it's not true.
In normal circumstance yanbu. UJ shouldn't of hinted and spoke out.

MuserOwl · 19/10/2020 20:41

@RUOKHon

I don’t even think a rape accusation ‘ruins men’s lives’. I mean, John Broadhurst raped Natalie Connolly to death and just got out of prison after serving only two years in a manslaughter charge because ‘she liked rough sex and she asked for it’.

In August, India Knight’s partner, Eric Joyce, was convicted of viewing and downloading videos of child sexual abuse, including the rape of a baby. He got a suspended sentence of a matter of months and is still happily tweeting his pathetic opinions to a fawning audience.

Even when they’re guilty, they fucking get away with it.

I agree. It is the crime that is about 97% getawaywithable.
EveryPlanetHasAYorkshire · 19/10/2020 20:42

@Aridane

Because anything on a phone is completely irrelevant to the issue of consent. You can be as up for it as it’s possible to be, sending nudes and sexting and all sorts. But if you get in his bedroom and suddenly he wants to do something to you that you don’t want him to do - you can withdraw consent there and then. And if he ignores it, he’s a rapist. Whatever you texted to him half an hour earlier means fuck all

But actually if half an hour later, you text to say what an amazing time you had and suggest meeting up again, of course that’s relevant to the defence!

Kind of like how women used to say that they had run into a door to hide the fact they were victims of domestic violence....
MuserOwl · 19/10/2020 20:46

@AnneElliott

I disagree that sex crimes should be treated differently from other crimes.

And why do you think Ulrika stayed silent? Was it because she enjoyed seeing an innocent man be hounded? Or the other obvious reason?

And not guilty doesn't mean innocent. Having been a juror I'm amazed anyone gets convicted of anything.

And yes it's interesting indeed that John Leslie didn't sue Matthew Wright. Why on earth would that be I wonder?

Exactly. Why did Ulrika stay silent? Really think that through?

Would she have let that be said about a person who did not rape her?

Why would she do that? Brainstorm on that.

All I can come up with is that the the media correctly pieced it together.

Agree that not guilty doesn't mean innocent.