U.K. Judge: Prison ‘Inevitable’ in False Rape Cases
There are a good many judges and prosecutors in this country who would so well to read this article (Telegraph, 10/30/09). Nominally, it reports on the fact that an appellate court in the United Kingdom has upheld the two-year prison sentence of Jennifer Day for making a false rape claim against Andrew Saxby, her boyfriend at the time. What the judges say in their opinion is nothing more than the most basic common sense. But however obvious and sensible the concepts, they still escape many people, among them many district attorneys in this country.
It's true that most of what the judges are worried about are the multiple impacts of false claims on the judicial system including police time spent investigating non-existent rapes. They point out that, for example in the Day/Saxby case, some 270 hours of police time were spent investigating her malicious claim that Day had made solely because she was angry with Saxby.
More important to them is the fact that false allegations make real ones more difficult to prove. As the article says,
Dismissing her appeal against sentence, Mr Justice Henriques, sitting in London with Mrs Justice Rafferty, said: "False complaints of rape necessarily impact upon the minds of jurors trying rape cases.
"Every time a defendant stands trial for rape, defence counsel necessarily point out to the jury that false allegations are made.
But the judges also pointed out the effects of false rape allegations on the victims. They called being named as a rapist "terrifying" and described Saxby's 10-hour ordeal at the hands of the police as "degrading and upsetting."
Intriguingly enough, Justice Henriques wrote in the Day/Saxby case that,
"An immediate custodial sentence is inevitable when a false allegation of rape is made."
Now, we all know that's simply not true. I've reported on false rape allegations in the U.K. that were met with no punishment whatsover and which even concealed the identity of the perpetrator into the bargain. So what's the justice talking about?
Maybe he's encouraging other judges to mete out custodial sentences in false rape cases. Maybe he's saying that jail time should be the inevitable outcome of maliciously-made claims of rape. If so, I say "amen."
Whatever the case, maybe someone should send this article to the DA who refused to charge Hofstra student Danmell Ndonye for her false claims against five young men in September.
Thanks to Mikey for the heads-up.
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