trial of alleged rape victim who killed herself

[chaosmonkey]

www.theguardian.com/law/2014/nov/06/call-crown-prosecutors-account-suicide-alleged-rape-victim

A young woman who said she had been raped went on to kill herself after the Crown Prosecution Service put her on trial for making up the allegation in a case originally instigated by her alleged attacker.

A bit speechless, so have just cut and paste initial para - sorry

[gita7007]

Oh, hang on, just read the article.

The guy is completely innocent and I totally see why he and the CPS pursued the false allegation charge.

What a sad story- a dead girl with looks and intelligence (despite her instability) and a ruined man and a grieving family.

[FloraFox]

Good grief, we should sack all the lawyers and judges and just have Daily Mail journalists instead. FFS.

[PuffinsAreFictitious]

Flora this is why the Daily hate Mail thrives.

It gives the masses what they want to hear. It almost looked like the woman accused of doing what apparently most women do, and crying rape, was about to get away with it, so they get hold of a man who harassed and threatened her to the point where she committed suicide and allow him to harass her even in death.

The natural order of women always lie about rape is restored and their readers can happily return to despising benefit claimants and furriners instead.

[FloraFox]

Exactly puffins.

[gita7007]

Um… are you suggesting that her texts about "the best sex of her life " didnt exist?

And that she hadnt lied about the rape?

And that the Daily Mail/Fail has invented those details?

Unless you know something I'm not aware of then she HAD lied and the CPS WAS right to peruse a false allegation charge.

Its called justice.

ps false allegations are less frequent then rapes of course- but both are criminal and must be investigated.

[PuffinsAreFictitious]

^ case in point.

[SaucyJack]

Threads like this give feminism a bad name.

Very sad for her and her family, but he did nothing wrong.

I highly doubt he'd been giving interviews if the woman's father hadn't dragged to story through the gutter press in the first place.

[gita7007]

Jack- I agree with your overall point- but I resent the reference to feminism.

As a life long feminist (I prefer the term humanist) I am happy to hold my hand up to fair criticism but this isn't fair.

This was ONE woman with mental health issues making a false allegation.

Its ONE police team that didnt look at the evidence properly and put an innocent man through hell.

That does not mean ALL police are bad or that feminism led to the false allegation.

[Amethyst24]

FFS, we don't know what he did or what her texts said or anything. The only evidence in his defence is a blatant whitewash in a paper with huge form for making shit up.

This young woman may have had MH issues but I find it extremely hard to believe that anyone would be so stupid as to cry rape in the circumstances he describes, with the evidence he claims exists. Even if women made a habit of falsely accusing men of rape, which they don't.

[gita7007]

Amethyrst…

FFFFFS! :)

Are you suggesting that the direct quotes of her texts saying she had the 'best sex of her life' are MADE UP?

is that really your position?

Are you saying the video footage of them canoodling is MADE UP?
What about her suicide threats leading to him breaking off the relationship?
Where they made up too?

This is a case of a bipolar woman making a false allegation.

If had a tragic ending which the police I'm sure will learn from.

[SaucyJack]

Amethyst- he was cleared in a court of law of rape, and she was facing a trial for perverting the course of justice. Pretty clear evidence actually.

Gita- I said this thread gives feminism a bad name, not the actions of the police. Someone started a thread on AIBU a few weeks ago asking why more posters don't come on FWR, and the answer is because whenever they do it's just full of the same old man-hating rubbish spouted in the name of feminism.

It's quite possible to express sympathy for Eleanor De Freitas without condemning this man for doing nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[gita7007]

Jack,
fair enough about the police thing…

but why does it give feminism a bad name?

[Mengog]

Flora I'm basing my opinion on facts. The CPS took on a private prosecution. To do this, they would require some good evidence. The article includes a lot of good evidence for his case. Where is the Daily Mail spin on that.

[SevenZarkSeven]

I'm not interested in reading an article in the DM written with the intention of trashing a woman who is dead and cannot therefore defend herself.

I am not particularly surprised that people would read one side of the story told by a person with a massive agenda and decide that it is the gospel truth, given that this is a rape case.

I am taken aback that her father has been accused of "dragging the story through the gutter press" when as far as I can see all he did was ask the CPS for an explanation as to why the decided to continue with the case. I think that's a really vile thing to say. His daughter is dead FFS and it wasn't him who killed her, he wanted an explanation as to why the authorities acted in this way and it is his right to have that.

That's made me really angry actually. He didn't sell pictures of her topless to the Mail did he. He asked the CPS for answers. How is that dragging her through the gutter press. It is this man who is dragging her through the gutter press now she is dead and can't defend herself.

[SevenZarkSeven]

"he was cleared in a court of law of rape"

This isn't true is it? I thought the case never got off the ground:

"De Freitas reported to police on 4 January 2013 that she had been allegedly drugged and raped by a male associate shortly before Christmas in 2012. The police investigated the case, interviewed De Freitas and arrested the alleged perpetrator. But the police eventually told De Freitas they could not proceed further as there was not a realistic chance of a successful conviction, partly due to the fact she had reported the alleged rape some time after the event and as such no forensic evidence had been collected to support her claims. The alleged perpetrator was told there would be no further action and the case was closed."

Where have you got this different information from?

Also if anyone can't imagine why an organisation would do something that a very rich, powerful person asked them to do, they are pretty bloody naive. Just putting it out there. The fact that they picked it up doesn't necessarily mean anything. Hence her father asking them to explain why they did it.

[SaucyJack]

Seven- her father named Alexander Economou in a radio interview. Little bit more than just privately asking for a case review I'm sure even you can see.

[SevenZarkSeven]

And the part where you stated that he was cleared in a court of law of rape?

[SevenZarkSeven]

Was his name supposed to be a secret then, wasn't it mentioned in any documents or at the inquest or anything?

If not that seems unusual.

You seem determined to smear this woman and her father. Why is that?

[gita7007]

The CPS took on the case because it was a clear example of a false allegation.

Given the texts and the video footage it would be easily established in court she was lying and would have been convicted.

The man had every right to bring his case and was mortified about the whole thing.

He has every right to give his side of the story to clear his name and reputation.

Seven- what part of the DM story was made up exactly?
Its true the media lie and spin - but I can't see how they did that here- can you?

[SevenZarkSeven]

Oh have the CPS released a statement then? I just googled and couldn't find anything.

[SevenZarkSeven]

Um gita where have I said anything in the DM was made up? I have not read it, I'm not going to, I have no opinion on it.

What I am interested in is the gleeful way this article in what is a vile woman-hating rag is being taken by some posters as a whole unbiased account of events. It was written by the man in question, and the woman in question is dead. I find the whole thing extremely unedifying and the glee from some posters really discomfiting.

[SevenZarkSeven]

Gita

"The CPS took on the case because it was a clear example of a false allegation."

Have they released the results of their investigation then? I just had a quick google and couldn't find it. A link would be great.

[Amethyst24]

Come on, there's no pretence at balance in that article, it is clearly a white-wash. None of us know the facts of what happened between them, but I am finding it hard to imagine that if she went to the police alleging rape, then they interviewed him and he said, "But what about these texts on my phone?" she'd have been in trouble for wasting police time, rather than the case merely being dropped on the basis that there wasn't enough evidence to proceed.

He then brought a private prosecution, which would have placed his identity in the public domain.

[sanfairyanne]

no statement from cps
no 'cleared in a court of appeal'

just keep making this crap up though. . .

[SevenZarkSeven]

Whoops!

Just I really would appreciate links for some of the assertions being made on here, as they are very very specific.