Amanda Bradley, 19, texted her new partner to say she'd been raped, Bolton Crown Court heard yesterday, and her victim was arrested while still in her bedroom.And she’s now got a 12-month prison sentence.
Three months later Bradley finally admitted to police that she'd lied.
But others should be in the dock with her:
Sentencing, Judge Steven Everett said: 'There was indeed an element of spite about what you did and an element of meanness.Indeed she did, judge. And why is that, I wonder? I mean, making an allegation of theft or assault or any other crime wouldn't be quite so likely to succeed, would it?
'You wanted to get him into trouble and you knew full well you were going to get him into trouble in a very big way.'
Having been arrested, the 28-year-old man she accused - who was not identified in court - was subjected to an 'intimate' forensic examination, interviewed at length and kept in police cell for 17 hours.Note that: her change of heart. Not good detective work...
He had the offence hanging over him for three months before Bradley's change of heart.
Officers went to her home address in Bolton, Greater Manchester, and they found her in a bedroom with the victim. She told police she had been raped.Because alarm bells, surprisingly enough, hadn't begun to ring before then. Amazing, eh?
She then spent a long time with an officer specially trained to deal with victims of rape who listened to her story.
Clothing was seized and samples taken. She then visited the St Marys Sexual Assault Referral Centre and underwent a full forensic examination, having been transported to and from the centre by a police officer.
When interviewed the victim strenuously denied he had raped her and said the sex was consensual.
In May, Bradley was video-interviewed by police and again reiterated her claim she had been raped.
But in June she contacted the investigating officer to withdraw her complaint.
At all times, despite the evidence and the protestations of the true victim, the police simply marched ahead in lockstep with their case, never wavering...
If she hadn't retracted her claim, there's no doubt whatsoever that it would have proceeded to trial. Because - frankly - does anyone suppose the CPS would not have done the same?
Detective Inspector Andy Meeks, of Bolton CID, said: 'Greater Manchester Police would encourage anyone who has been a victim of rape or any sort of sexual abuse to come forward.Yes, that took my breath away too. Let’s see it again:
'We treat every allegation seriously and will investigate thoroughly and without prejudice.
'The support we gave to Bradley shows just how seriously we take any allegation…
'The support we gave to Bradley shows just how seriously we take any allegation…Amazing as it seems, he genuinely – and with seemingly no thought other than impressing upon his audience how politically-correct he is – believes that the amount of time they spent believing every word that came out of the lying little cow’s mouth and never checking out her story is a good thing…
…and I want to stress that in publicising this case, we want anyone who has been a genuine victim to speak to us because we can help not only you, but also put your attacker behind bars.Well, that's nice of you to recognise that. I note the priority.
'However, we must also treat lying to the police about such an awful crime equally seriously.
'Unfortunately, false allegations make a mockery of the experiences suffered by genuine victims.'
Anyone else affected by this cock-up?
Isn’t there someone else who…
*snaps fingers*
Oh, yes:
He added: 'In investigating this false claim, officers wasted countless hours interviewing witnesses and on paperwork when they could have been dealing with a genuine emergency.Hmmm....
Isn’t there someone else who…
*snaps fingers*
Oh, yes:
'Not only that, but the man she alleged was responsible had to spend time in a custody cell, wrongly accused of an offence he did not commit.Nice priorities there, DI Meeks…
Unfairly, he has been put through a tremendous amount of stress when he is completely innocent.'
H/T: Mark Wadsworth
There's really too much of this going on now. Plus the coagulation have reneged on a promise to give the accused anonymity too.
ReplyDeleteI was sad when I saw that Quiet - they are now the ConDoomed. I found GMP utterly useless when we needed them and they make be the worst force in the UK, though they now answer the phone in a civil manner under Fahy. I suspect much of the problem is that they have no clue what evidence is.
ReplyDeleteJuliaM
ReplyDeleteDo I recall you having an argument with a commenter on the Tim Worstall blog who had asserted that the number of incidents of this type of crime ie falsely claiming rape, was vanishingly small so, in effect, we can forget about it? Has that commenter ever resiled from that opinion in the light of evidence to the contrary?
If the police had dropped this case we would have got slaughtered as well.We don't carry lie detectors as standard you know.The presumption has swung so far the other way so that the victim (woman) is nearly always believed.
ReplyDelete"Plus the coagulation have reneged on a promise to give the accused anonymity too."
ReplyDeleteI know. I can't say I'm surprised, but...
"I was sad when I saw that Quiet..."
I was furious!
"Do I recall you having an argument with a commenter on the Tim Worstall blog who had asserted that the number of incidents of this type of crime ie falsely claiming rape, was vanishingly small so, in effect, we can forget about it? "
Ah, that'll be poor John B, who has gone rather quiet on that score, and seems to avoid threads of that sort like Dracula fleeing a crucifix... :)
"The presumption has swung so far the other way so that the victim (woman) is nearly always believed."
She should be believed, initially.
But when evidence emerges that the picture she's painting isn't exactly a masterpiece, questions should be asked.
It shouldn't be a case of 'we must press on', or 'let's leave it to the jury'...
When I was at Police Training College the subject was introduced as 'hard to prove, and even harder to disprove'. That was in 1975.
ReplyDeleteThe DNA testing that we have now is not a great help if the issue is whether there was consent
Eeek! She looks well nutty!
ReplyDelete"When I was at Police Training College the subject was introduced as 'hard to prove, and even harder to disprove'. That was in 1975. "
ReplyDeleteI expect that was one of the attitudes they wanted to throw out, like the baby with the bathwater...
Only a fool would retract. The entire justice system is behind the woman, either through political fervour, groupthink or fear for their jobs. Why withdraw and commit a crime, unless you are as thick as shit?
ReplyDelete