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Legal matters

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Trial Pending

13 replies

Chirpyeagle · 16/12/2024 21:07

Evening to all.
Some advice and perspective would be really appreciated. My son, who has never been in any kind of trouble, had an 18 month relationship with a woman 15 years his senior. This lady has borderline personality disorder, self harm alongside drug and alcohol misuse. He was 25 at the start of the relationship, she was 40. He became withdrawn and quite frightened of her to the point where I was clear with him that if he didn’t end things, he was at risk of false allegations from her. This was written by me to him in a text when she had another meltdown at her friends wedding. He didn’t end things until she had a major episode where there was an altercation in a car. He said she was going to crash the car as she was driving, he tried to stop her and they’d both been drinking. There’s quite a lot of gaps so the upshot is that he was arrested and charged for ABH for the incident in the car and she’s alleged two other incidents that she said occurred in their home with no witnesses. One where she alleges he pushed her in the kitchen and another was a fight in a hotel. At one point where they’d parted after a row I offered her a loan to set herself up in a rental property. I believed this may allow him the chance to break away from her. A loan agreement was drawn up and she’s now accused me of blackmailing her for her silence. I knew nothing of any physical fighting at the time. I’d add, that she only came forward with these allegations when she found out 6 months after they split up that he was with someone new. He’s been happy in this new relationship with lovely girl now for 2 years and is doing very well career wise as a primary school teacher. He decided to plead not guilty at magistrates court, choosing to go to trial to prove his innocence. The trial is early February and he’s struggling. He made some poor choices, failed to listen to any of his family while he was with this woman and he’s by no means perfect but he’s a good kind man and I can’t seem to make him believe he’s going to be ok. His biggest fear is that some 9 months after the split she’s shown the police images of bruising. He said she would often come home this way after going on a “bender” There’s so much more but any advice on a probable outcome from what I’ve outlined? I’m really not a daft mother who sees no wrong in her children. I would like to offer him some reassurance in a believable way. Thanks if you managed to get to the end.

OP posts:
Nextdoor55 · 16/12/2024 21:18

Was there a gap between when these alleged incidents happened & when she reported them? Or did she report them at the time?

Chirpyeagle · 16/12/2024 22:46

There was 9 month gap. She reported the allegations at the time we believe she became aware he was in a new relationship

OP posts:
Chirpyeagle · 16/12/2024 23:37

There was 9 month gap. She reported the allegations at the time we believe she became aware he was in a new relationship

OP posts:
Peasnbeans · 17/12/2024 00:24

Is he off work as a primary teacher due to the allegations?

Chirpyeagle · 17/12/2024 07:30

No, he was appointed his post following their split, been completely transparent with the school from the outset and they’ve been very supportive

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Peasnbeans · 17/12/2024 08:43

the upshot is that he was arrested and charged for ABH for the incident in the car and she’s alleged two other incidents

Is it definitely the case that he's been totally honest about school to you? It's VERY unlikely that someone awaiting a trial for ABH, who has been charged, is still allowed to teach until it has been cleared up.

If he hasn't had his union present at the meeting with his headteacher where he declared it, I'd recommend this 100%.

NigellaAwesome · 17/12/2024 09:10

I assume he has a solicitor and barrister?

I'm surprised they charged him if there was no contemporaneous evidence although I think a lot of forces have a pro charge policy for DV these days. Were the photos genuine, taken at the time? Is there metadata and medical evidence to support the photos?

Has she actually made a criminal allegation against you that you tried to bribe her for silence? If not then it is just background noise, and if a loan agreement had been drawn up then it is clear it was expected to be paid back, so not a bribe.

My advice to him would be to tell the truth, completely, even if some aspects reflect badly on him. I would also advise that he is proactive with his legal team - with the best will in the world, no one will know the case and facts better than your DS so he needs to really engage with them and go through the evidence and point out inconsistencies and anomalies to his team so they can represent him best. Has he received all of the papers and disclosure yet?

Chirpyeagle · 17/12/2024 10:52

He’s been completely honest. I go to his school myself once a week to help the children with reading.

OP posts:
Chirpyeagle · 17/12/2024 10:58

Thank you. Yes he’s received all the papers. There are many inconsistencies. He has one text from her that he screen shot. This was her asking him for £8000 or she was going to the police with allegations against him. That was sent before there was any arrest

OP posts:
Chirpyeagle · 17/12/2024 11:05

I believe he was charged as a result of initial duty solicitor’s advice to go “no comment” I understand there is no issue with the blackmail accusation, I’m trying to put across that her credibility is poor to say the least. When he was on bail, she was constantly contacting him and made several threats if he were to leave her of both making allegations against him and suicide threats. She also has a blemish on her record in relation to drugs

OP posts:
NigellaAwesome · 19/12/2024 12:36

I know a no comment interview has its place, but I'm not sure that it always serves people well. So is it the case that your DS hasn't put his version of events across at any stage to date? Has he provided a statement? Have the police & CPS seen the screenshots of her texts making threats and blackmail?

NigellaAwesome · 19/12/2024 12:40

I meant to also say that the drugs conviction is unlikely to be relevant.

In my experience judges are pretty astute and will direct juries accordingly. Your DS just needs to have faith in his legal team and the system, and be proactive in helping his team to identify all the inconsistencies, providing them with all the screenshots, emails etc.

At the trial itself he needs to be honest and not argumentative.

It's a horrible thing to be facing though. Good luck to him.

ByQuaintAzureWasp · 19/12/2024 14:52

Chirpyeagle · 17/12/2024 10:58

Thank you. Yes he’s received all the papers. There are many inconsistencies. He has one text from her that he screen shot. This was her asking him for £8000 or she was going to the police with allegations against him. That was sent before there was any arrest

I'd be taking that to the police and putting a counter blackmail allegation against her.

What does his solicitor/barrister say?

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