Before you read the news story below, ask yourself, what must innocent men do to protect themselves from false rape claims on a date? Videotape the entire encounter? (You'd better check to see if it's legal to videotape someone without her knowledge in your jurisdiction). Far less fool-proof: send a self-serving email or text message to your date afterward telling her what a great time you had, and noting how you're glad she had such a good time, too? (A splendid idea -- such ante litem motam conduct is inconsistent with the conduct one would expect of a rapist.) Or don't date women at all? (An entire movement promotes such ideas.)
At least in this case, justice was served: the woman is being deprived of her liberty for one year to pay for her terrible crime. While one year is arguably insufficient, it is better than the typical sentence for these offenses.
And the judge got it right: his focus was on the harm to an innocent man. Good work, Judge Esmond Faulks.
Woman jailed over false date rape claims
A WOMAN who falsely claimed she had been date-raped by a man she met over the Internet has been jailed.
Natalie Jefferson told officers she had been attacked in a back lane during a night out in Newcastle by a stranger she met in a chatroom.As a result of her lies, an innocent man who has never been in troublebefore was arrested and spent the best part of a day in police custody as a sex suspect.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Jefferson, 27, of Chichester Way, Fellgate,Jarrow, started speaking to the man on-line on January 7, and they arranged to meet that night.
Their night out in the city was cut short when Jefferson claimed one of her children had been rushed to hospital and she had to get straight back home.
Jefferson, who had been receiving a series of telephone calls from an exduring the night out, parted ways with her date at Felling Metro station.
From there she went to a neighbour's home back in Fellgate, where she reported she had been attacked by the man she had been out with.
Prosecutor Robin Patton told the court: "She said he had raped her in aback lane.
"She said he left her in the back lane and she made her way home on herown. She was extremely distressed."
The court heard while Jefferson was taken by police to a specialist rapecrisis centre for three hours, where she was examined and looked after, and the back lane in Newcastle city centre was cordoned off.
Police spent the entire night guarding the crime scene awaiting specialist scenes of crime officers.
The innocent accused was arrested at 10.30 the next morning, and it was not until that afternoon, after police checked CCTV to corroborate Jefferson's story, that he was released without charge.
Mr Patton said: "It was quite clear she had completely concocted this account for no good reason at all."
The court heard the man was about to go through the ordeal of being medically examined when the truth was finally revealed.
Mr Patton said: "They immediately stopped the examination because theywere sure he was an innocent man."
Ailsa MacDonald, defending, said Jefferson has a considerable psyciatric background and a problem with alcohol.
Judge Esmond Faulks jailed Jefferson, who admitted perverting the course of justice, for 12 months.
He told her: "Police obviously took your complaint extremely seriously,because rape is a very serious offence.
"This was a huge waste of police time, and, more serious than that, is this led to the arrest of an innocent man."
Link: http://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/Woman-jailed-over-false-date.5432514.jp
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22 comments:
Enabling false rape accusers is a perversion.
I think the writer of the article is too optimistic and doesn't fully understand how sentencing works in the UK.
It's 99% certain she won't be in prison for a year - as long as she doesn't do anything really stupid inside then she'll only serve half her sentence. For her one year is very much the worst case scenario (and almost impossible to achieve) and thus the sentence is significantly more laughable than it seems.
Still -- this is far, far better than nothing, and six months is a lot more time in the UK than it would be in the US, where incarceration rates are many times higher. Plus this poor guy didn't have to do time. We constantly read about men spending ridiculous amounts of time in jail prior to exhoneration; far more time than their abusers ever do. The emphasis on this victim's rights was also very appropriate, and sadly lacking in most judges.
Re: sentencing: it's the same in the U.S. and probably much worse.
Sentencing is five or six times more in the US than in the UK -- and the UK is relatively harsh for a european country.
"Sentencing is five or six times more in the US than in the UK -- and the UK is relatively harsh for a european country."
Authority, please?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/americas/23iht-23prison.12253738.html
(Scroll down to the eighth paragraph for the UK rate.)
Too bad false rape claims are routinely dropped in the U.S. Ain't no sentencing harshness for those crimes in the U.S. The harsh sentences are reserved for males and male crimes alone.
They lock up everybody except false accusers. Wouldn't want to offend the feministas!
" Jefferson, who had been receiving a series of telephone calls from an exduring the night out, parted ways with her date at Felling Metro station.
From there she went to a neighbour's home back in Fellgate, where she reported she had been attacked by the man she had been out with.
Prosecutor Robin Patton told the court: "She said he had raped her in aback lane.
"She said he left her in the back lane and she made her way home on herown. She was extremely distressed."
(ahem)
Ailsa MacDonald, defending, said Jefferson has a considerable psyciatric background and a problem with alcohol.
An excuse for falsely accusing a man of rape? Unacceptable
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/americas/23iht-23prison.12253738.html
What does this say about our nation?
there must be a catch here. The ony way a judge would focus on the harm done the man, is if he was the son of someone famouse or some other wierd circumstance; or maybe the cops in that jurisdiction are being pressured in some way. There could be any number of reasons.
Could it be possible that a few judges have visited this site and are waking up to the immeasurable harm done to men who are falsely accused of rape?
My hat is off to the judge in this case.
"This was a huge waste of police time, and, more serious than that, is this led to the arrest of an innocent man."
They would be surprised to know how many innocent men have been locked up and punished for false accusations.
[i]Norm said...
there must be a catch here. The ony way a judge would focus on the harm done the man, is if he was the son of someone famouse or some other wierd circumstance; or maybe the cops in that jurisdiction are being pressured in some way. There could be any number of reasons.[/i]
It may simply be that the 'women' problem is so big it can no longer be ignored.
Women are going out at night into the citys here, drinking to excess, becoming violent, and then collapsing unconcious in the streets.
British home office statistics show that in domestic violence, women initiate violence at least as often as men, and when we take into account the taboo men face in reporting that they have been assaulted by their female partner, you can almost be certain that female on male violence is even higher.
All of this is on our news, and in our newspapers all the time.
Even with men here trying to prevent women from being punished, the sheer level of misbehaviour is becoming too big for the system to ignore (police and courts).
SteveUK
I see what you mean. But remember, we must examine "what it is about society" that causes women to "succumb to this behavior". I wonder if the majority of these women you refer to will be sent to treatment or something instead of being punished.
If nothing else, they can always fall back on 'we don't have the jail facilities to accomodate them all' (not sure if that's true in the UK though).
Norm said ...
we must examine "what it is about society" that causes women to "succumb to this behavior".
Norm, I think ultimately it is that men dont want to be seen by women as strict or in anyway controlling, because they believe women will reject them and go to another male. So men allow them to do what they want, which means women are free to be selfish and destructive.
there is the manipulation of boys in childhood, by women who say girls/women are beautiful princess's who can do no wrong.
Dont ever question a woman. A man must have a woman or there must be something wrong with him. A man must father a child, or he's not a real man etc etc
mens heads are spinning, and they are kept spinning because thats exactly what women want.
I just want to expand on what I've just wrote
Women are setting these goals for men, i.e
you must have a women, you must then have a baby etc. men meet these goals, and it makes them feel more manly as a reward, so the next thing they are expected to do, even if they dont particularly want to do it, they do it, and they feel a little bit more manly and the reward that brings them. Its a total manipulation of the nature of men. men are like dogs in some respects, and how often do you hear women say "I've got my man well trained."?
dogs ofcourse being loving and too keen to please.
any woman who thinks she is going to 'train' me can shove it up her butt.
SteveUK said...
" I just want to expand on what I've just wrote
Women are setting these goals for men, i.e
you must have a women, you must then have a baby etc. men meet these goals, and it makes them feel more manly as a reward, so the next thing they are expected to do, even if they dont particularly want to do it, they do it, and they feel a little bit more manly and the reward that brings them. Its a total manipulation of the nature of men. men are like dogs in some respects, and how often do you hear women say "I've got my man well trained."?
I know this quote has been posted before but I think it is important and relevant to post it again.
"The male is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness...can be trained to do most things." -- Jilly Cooper, SCUM (Society For Cutting Up Men, started by Valerie Solanas)
I am not a dog, or any other animal. I refuse to be trained by women.
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