24 hours in police custody...

[randomuntrainedcuntowner]

Do you think he did it?

I am very suspicious of a man who would take on an alcoholic and the ration her alcohol. It's very controlling. And he is so odd.

But I do think they let her down not because there hands were tied, but when she reappeared at the police after going missing from the hospital, the female officer was asking if she wanted to report her previous rapes as it could stop them doing it someone else then afterwards the other police officer and social worker were trying to get her to open up and come forward.

So when she does finally open she get’s told that there is not enough evidence.

That was a hard watch . Can someone explain why the CPS decided not to prosecute on the grounds that it would be difficult to get a conviction? I think they said it would be difficult to get a jury to believe her?

I'm only watching it now. Horrible.

Frustratingly, there was 5 minutes of it missing on 4+1.

That was so frustrating to watch. Can't believe they didn't at least try to prosecute. I was on a jury for a rape case with less evidence than they had (he said/she said), it didn't get a conviction as there wasn't the evidence but I felt in this case there was a lot more.

So sad that there are many vulnerable young women being sucked into these situations.

It is because sexual crimes are not seen as important enough. If someone turned up in hospital with just a fractured skull the police would try and pin it on the last person to be with them, he even dropped her at the hospital. But because it happened to a woman and there's sex involved there's not enough evidence? It takes a serious amount of force to fracture someone's skull. In any other context it would be seen as attempted murder. That's not just rough sex ffs.

It is not because sexual crimes are not important enough.

If someone turned up in hospital with "just" a fractured skull the police would NOT try and pin it on the last person to be with them - but they would of course be asked about the chain of events. Naturally.

The basic problem that you have OP is the fundamental of British law - you are innocent unless proven guilty. It is obviously difficult in sex crime to prove guilt. There MUST be objective evidence. It is not enough for a person to claim "I have been raped". Of course not - the accuser may be lying. Most aren't, but some do, would you be OK with it if your son was unjustly accused?

It's a problem and can only be dealt with on a case by case basis, on the evidence

I have tremendous sympathy for any victim of sexual abuse. But you cannot and must not assume guilt from every allegation. Some people have lied so you cannot assume every allegation is true,

Couldn't get her out of my mind.

What kind of horrors are waiting for her through life.

We can't even protect her when she discloses.

I understand not getting him prosecuted for rape but even if you take out the physical and sexual violence, he was coercive controlling her and that is a crime in itself.

The man has a pattern of abusive behaviour, it’s just such a shit world.

Unfortunately the police could not do anything, as there was no clear evidence to what happened.

And equally there was no way she would be able to give clear evidence in court, and that would just stress and upset her more while he would just get more power over her.

Hopefully the social worker she left with have been able to get her into a more stable, safe environment for her to live in.

It was desperately sad last night.

I can't see that the police "let her down" though - they were obviously keen to arrest and prosecute that scumbag (and they did arrest and interview him twice) but ultimately there didn't seem to be much in the way of evidence beyond her statements. A fractured skull is shocking, but without any recollection, witnesses, forensic evidence of how it was sustained I can't see what else they can do, sadly.

And she refused to make a statement about previous rapes, only the episodes with this man which they couldn't then progress.

She was so terribly vulnerable - I did wonder why she had a social worker? Previously in care? Previously under CS for some reason?

Men that prey on immature women are just vile; she was so immature both physically and mentally

I bet the police force in Luton have got him on their radar now though. Hopefully.

I can understand that evidence is required before prosecution.

I think it was very clear that the girl was incredibly vulnerable, and I'm left wondering where the process has left her. We saw that she had a social worker at one point, but was she offered any other help or protection?

I can just imagine that thuggish sadist picking her up again straight away and punishing her severely for her crimes.

I think there was a missed opportunity to show how someone in that position could get some help.

The overall message from the programme is don't tell the police anything, it will just get you in more trouble.

I also wondered why they didn't question the older bloke they brought in first of all; it might have been helpful.

But he was already on their radar, he’s had similar arrests but no convictions.

I know I’m probably being unfair on the police and CPS but when it’s so shitty what has happened to her. It’s also shitty what has and continues to happen to millions of girls and women around the world and there is nothing that can ever really be done about it.

You're so right Captain - it is very very shitty. These men are so predatory and quite clever and seem to get away with it repeatedly.

He was familiar to them once arrested, but I'm hoping that they'll be keeping a slightly closer eye on him and maybe letting him know that they're "watching" him... (Wishful thinking probably, I'm not a copper and have no idea if that's even an option)

What an absolute fucking scum bag, i don't believe the police let her down. They tried and they tried but their hands are tied by the cps.
I do wonder if it was a case of "the wrong kind of victim" like the rotherham cases where the CPS only took the ones who presented better?

He is going to do this time and time again he just keeps getting away with it, i doubt he recognises he's doing something wrong he just thinks they are worthless

He could have been done for abh, rape, coersion or control, harassment, kidnap, attempted murder.

It annoyed me how he kept saying 'she's 19 and if she was 15 it would be different. She's immature'. Firstly adults should have protection no matter what age (and 19 is still young). Secondly although anyone can be vunerable and it's victim blaming to say she's immature when she clearly saw that it was wrong and tried to escape in the end. She was threatened with death/violence against her and her family.

I didn't like the attitude of what people do behind closed doors is their private life. Umm cummon ffs a fractured skull and being unconscious should call for protection alone.

They said...

'No witnesses'... her grandma. The nurse in the hospital who said she was fearful then on the phone. His previous victims who allege crimes of this nature.

'No forensics'. He smashed skull. Her burns. Her bite marks. Swelling in vagina

'No text messages.' They said there was odd text messages.

'I think a jury would find it hard to prove he's rapes her. '

Does this mean for any rape prosecution there's gotta be someone watching it to prove it.

Hated this one and feel she was let down, although I don't know what else the police should or could have done. I worry for her now.

I'm watching this on catch up - I can't believe you can sustain a fractured skull and be dropped at the hospital on cctv by the person you allege assaults you. And then no one thinks you can take that further...

It does make you wonder so if you fracture someone's skull, rape them, not them leave, threaten them and suffocate them but do it without cctv then what... you just get away with it?

O and not do it to one victim but others.

Seriously?

I can't believe this young woman was encouraged to open up, told she would be helped and then just left as there was 'not enough evidence' What the hell is going to happen to her now? He knows where she and her family are. She's seriously at risk. I don't get it. I've known of cases with only 'he said, she said' evidence go to court. Why no injunction at least? He has a history.
Very difficult to watch.

It was really shocking to see how little could be done. As a PP said, there were other people involved even in the little we saw in the programme. Maybe it was in the editing but we got no sense at all of an investigation beyond interviewing them both. He had a criminal record as well as a list of charges going back years.

I fear not only for her but also for anyone else in a similar situation who might have seen it and now thinks there's no point in coming foreward. Was she given any information about civil action like a non molestation order? Why wasn't he arrested for assault at least based on the bruises observed by her grandmother? Was the person accompanying her a social worker or a Women's Aid/domestic violence worker? It might at least have been helpful to other victims to have some sense of who she had turned to.

So fucking frustrating throughout.

I really hope the young woman doesn't end up on a slab before the CPS are able to act.

While NFA was taken, the woman hopefully now has full access to the support she needs to change her life around. I hope there was lots going on that we didn't see.

Mental Health services massively let down the young lad on this weeks episode, I said straight away that he is showing signs of paranoid schizophrenia in his first interview.

I hope he’s Mum and brother are doing okay now and that he is getting the help he so clearly needed now he is in a secure unit.

I know, poor lad I really felt for him and his mum. Didn't like the way the police were pushing the CPS to change their minds and to charge, all the guilty as sin perpetrators that get away with NFA and the police just shrug their shoulders and they have to go after this poor guy at least the judge saw sense.

Mental health services would have assessed him when they had a bed, they didn't need to push for a charge and court case, how unnecessarily stressful for him and the family

Yes, hope the lad featured is recovering. At the end it said something along the lines of him staying there until he was well I think, does that mean he’s kept indefinitely? So could be there many years?

Could be but then they'll put him on medicine to get his schizophrenia under control so I'd say it's unlikely he'll be in there years