sexual abuse - is there a time limit on reporting it?

[gemmiegoatlegs]

does anyone know?

somebody in my family was sexually abused over a period of time as a child by her father. She has never been able to free herself emotionally or really live a normal life. she has now decided she wants to take action and go to the police.

i was wondering if the time lapsed betweeen on offence being committed and the reporting of it will mean a successful prosecution is unlikely. this happened nearly thirty years ago.

i am also v. worried that my family member is going to face a nasty court ordeal where her father tries to discredit her. he has lots of money for a good legal team. Her sister went through the same abuse and although she doesn't want to be involved she will go to court if she has to.

does anyone have any experience of this? i know the statistics on successful prosecutions in rape cases generally are v. grim...

Gemmie- there is no time limit and there have been successful prosecutions where the time lapse has been very considerable. Its hard to say what the chances of a successful prosecution would be without knowing all the initmate details.

I would advise her going to her local police. There will be a specially trained officer there who she can talk to in depth who will support her through the process.

Would agree with TurkeyLurkey....there are no time limits....this kind of case is usually referred to as charges of a historical nature (ie in that the offences happened a long time ago)

Also, there is never any guaranteed outcome in any case, however your friend will be treated with the utmost respect when she reports it and will be offered support. If her sister is also willing to give evidence then this obviously will help her case.

I think she is very brave to report it....I hope it goes ok for her....x

thanks for replying. i am just really worried that she is not going to be believed or supported and that she will end up feeling worse than she did before

Gemmie- another point, when CPS review the police's evidence they have to do a number of tests to see if the case is suitable for trial (a public interest test and an evidence test).

They will only take matters to court which meet this criteria and therefore stand a better chance of conviction.

What I am saying is that cases do not automatically get taken to court by CPS, if they decided to prosecute that would generally mean that her evidence was strong. Yes, her Dad could try all he could to discredit her, but to have got to court she would have a strong case anyway. Anyway, the police can bring in all sorts of things like Bad Character Evidence now which we couldn't do previously.

Please do not be worried that she will not be believed or supported.

Unfortunately this sort of thing is commoner than you think.

No there is no time limit....no statute of limitations i think they call it but could be wrong...

she will be believed and supported

however, the time thing....can be an issue when asked to remember specific dates and times and places. I don't know if it is like that everywhere but I found that this was a problem - and is even more so if you are 'remembering' stuff that happened to you as a child with 'adult' eyes as obviously, you're not going to recall all the details you'd need had it happened to you as an adult iyswim. But where it is sufficiently serious (which, of course, it is if it is rape) then I think the specific details matter less.

But don't let that put her off - the police will/should be welcoming and helpful and COMPLETELY used to people coming forward with stuff like this (however awful that sounds) and trained to deal with it. Even if it doesn't get to court, she may find she gets a great deal of comfort from just being heard and taken seriously.

GOod luck to her.

To repeat the "no time limit" thing.

Additionally, there are A LOT of historic cases being brought forward these days, as you may anticipate with the more open attitude to sexual offences in the home, and the more supportive practices of prosecutors and courts. To bring such a case will NOT be seen as unusual.

If your family friend is pining her hopes on a conviction, it will, from the sound of it, his word against her's >. As otehrs ahve said, she may be wishing to have her expereinces validated publicly and ahve him confronted, albeit with no security of a conviction.

Best wishes to her.

and one day I shall learn to arrange the correct letters in the correct order.

If there is an insufficency of evidence in a particluar case, Scottish Criminal Law has the 'Moorov Doctrine' which basically means that the evidence of one witness may be used to corroborate the evidence of another.....it is more usually used in this type of case (sexual offences)

I am not sure if English criminal law has something similar or not.....perhaps some one will be able to clarify.

As others have said, these kind of cases are more common than you may think.

mine was 25 years later
feel free to CAT me - i am a fount of knowledge on this!

as for that lots of money and good legal team - been on the receiving end of that - counted for very little - please DO cat me

Hi there..this is not a nice process for anyone to be dealin with. All invovled are affected by this. I am gonig through something very similar and am at the stage where I am awaiting a court appearance. There was a gap of 12 years with me. The police have a care unit in each department who are very helpful and fully trained in this area. This is who your family member needs to speak to, there is also alot of counselling available who could point you in the right direction and help with the emotional scars. I attended one called Nexus but I am unsure if this is only in Northern Ireland.

AS far as time difference goes, it does not mean there wil be no prosecution. However, if her sister would testify it definately adds more weight to the case with more than one person against the abuser. I am on my own with my evidence, surprisingly though as the police are so trained in this area, they were able to judge that my abuser was gulity from his behaviour and inaccuracies in his statement.

The first thing to do is to call the police and ask for the Care unit and say that they want to make a statement. The process is quite a long one and emotionally draining but even if there is no prosecution in my case I am happy that he has been charged and he knows he cannot do this. I only hope this prevents it happening to someone else at his hand.

If you require anything else, let me know I would be happy to help.

p.s I just read your other comment there. Not being believed is always a horrible feeling and one that is bore deeply from the mental abuse that this sort of thing does to you. Growing up believing that you couldnt tell cos no one believe is still in me now but the police will believe your family member and they will look into the situation extensively. As far as other family members are concerend, I was so so worried about telling them and them thinking i was making it up, but not one did and to be honest if they dont believe your family member then there is something wrong with them cos this is not something anybody would make up, its not something to wish on anyone.

People will believe and going to the police and standing up to the abuser is the only way to start to get closer from this ordeal. It may also prevent it happening to another child, or the mans other family members who are children. That was the decider for me, once I had nieces and nephews I couldnt put them at risk. It is a hard process,specially when the demons raise their heads and you feel things you thought you would never feel but tell your family member that it will be ok and they will get through it and people will believe them. They have no reason not to.