General Chat

My daughter is a court usher local and crown IGP....and still gets amazed.

Bob why did he plead gulity then ? for refusing ? I dont think so

Its not just the police who are involved either, the DPP has to be satisfied that the case is robust too.

I remember back in the 1980's when as part of my job I had to attend court cases as an observer. The way cases are run bear little resemblance to what you see on the telly and there is more time spent hanging around waiting than there is in the actual court.

We got to knew the ushers quite well and I remember one in particular who was due to retire after 40 years of service. He had seen it all and maintained that less than one in a thousand brought up before the court was truly innocent of the crime. Unfortunately far more than that managed to dupe the jury and got off.

I heard a report about this on the radio and the chap said Stuart Hall gave the performance of his life saying he was innocent so all the people who knew him felt sorry for him and believed him and they were shocked when he decided to suddenly plead guilty and embarrassed that he fooled them too. I don't think any of the perpetrators will have much support when the truth gets out. Fame obviously went to their heads and they thought they were above the law all those years ago, now they find that the truth will out and they will have to take their punishment. I have no sympathy for any of them, famous or not who abuse young people.

A local Catholic priest of 29 years has been rebailed on charges of abusing children years ago. It isn't just the famous who get caught up with years later.

Lizx

And we have a winner!!
For stupid rape and assault myths
I would love to say I can't believe you said that Bobtanian but sadly that's why the statistics are so bloody awful

The police aren't stupid, Bobtanian. A lot of that type of case is weeded out very early on. As Lynda said they ask particular questions and look at a particular manner of behaviour.

If there is a case to answer then it goes to court. Sometimes people are found not guilty, even when they did it because of the benefit of doubt.

Victums of abuse are scarred for life.

cant see him going to prison at his age. a suspended sentence I would think, as with the others.

Its well known that groupies follow stars to the extent of stalking

groupie says to star, I'm yours,

star says to groupie, you are too young, .bugger off.........

groupie is now woman scorned and has an axe to grind...........

groupie later jumps on bandwagon...........

who is to prove otherwise........star is now covered in mud.......for life........

I think the days are long gone when people assumed females could not commit a sex crime, and as said before absoloutely treated equally the same.

Oh yes,,,,,,,females face the same charges as male ,and just as appalling,infact it appears worse when a woman is involved as a womans natural instincts are percived to nurture and protect..

but we've seen cases tried against where guilty women are at the centre....

school children or under age boys,

nursery age children,

all crimes committed by women.

Just wondered what Dermot
Wether it would be appalling, or wether they should be charged
Yes to both in my book
Bit of a stupid question on a serious thread actually mate

if the accused is a female same rules still apply

Sorry for delay l have been out......

Roy.....are you saying you thought l had inside information?? If so no l did'nt it was on the radio just before l went out. He pleaded guilty to all charges l think and apologised (yuck).
As for people pleading guilty when they are not????....well as Lynda says thats not what this thread is about!!

jude

What if an accused was female? Just wondered.

I hope these high profile cases will shake up what is still an appalling rate of conviction for sex crimes.and encourage more victims to come forward
Some basic stats(they do change from country to country but not much and are good for a general idea)
Only Around 2 percent of rape allegations are found by police when investigating the circumstances of the crime to be completely false. This is consistent with all other crimes.
As many as 50 percent and in some cases up to 90percent of rape/
Sexual assaults are not reported this includes men and women
Only around 6percent of people who committ a sex crime will ever see the inside of a jail!!!
Conviction rates can be up to 10 percent when the general conviction rate for other crimes is closer to 40
These boards often show why with people's preconceived ideas.........
It's been lots of years women are only coming forward for money
I don't believe a word of it he's such a nice man
She had on a short skirt
She went to his room
She was drinking
She's had lots of partners before
As I said before its bloody appalling , now
The conviction rate 20 -40 yrs ago would have been next to nothing
Unless you were grabbed and beaten up by a stranger rape probably never happened. Certainly not by smiling famous men who were invited to visit with you or who lured you along all the while keeping up there appearances to the outside world

If I was asked by anyone to plead gulity to something I hadnt done then I just wouldnt ......he admitted the charges he is as gulity as hell !!!

The only decent thing he had done in all of this , is to actually admit it and save those poor victims the truama of trial, maybe he thinks because of his age and there appears to be no victims for the past 25 yrs that he will get off without a prison sentence, I am horrified for all of them and mostly his youngest victim was 9 yrs old.

I do hope he does receive a prison sentence.

Of course all police aren't nice people Joan, but having worked with a lot of police over the years, I'd say there are loads more good than bad ones.

A lot of people would possibly be surprised if they were a fly on the wall in an interview room. There isn't much use in a police officer framing someone, when the true culprit runs free. I've seen officers having to have counselling for the awful things they have seen.

As in everyday life, there are a few bad apples, but there are many more great ones.

Thankyou Lynda.

Still can't be easy for the accused if innocent, to prove their innocence especially after such a long time,not all police are "nice" people, there have been some in the past that have been found to fabricate or alter things to get the result that THEY want!
The police can be under pressure to get a result & this has sometimes led to an innocent person being sent to prison for a rape / crime they did not commit!

Joan.

And, as far as Hall is concerned, he plead guilty which means just that.

In the case of Stuart Hall, and others like him, a lot of there victims, will say something that other victims have said, like, he had a distinguishing mark somewhere, or that he used certain phrases, the victims have never met, or spoken before, so all these facts would be put together, and often it can be overwhelming evidence, that what a victim had said, is what actually happened. Then a detective would put these allegations to the accused, and from there a case would be either put to court, or the accused would be released without charge.

In the case of rape, if there was no physical evidence, to say it occurred, interviews would take place, and in some cases the accused, when questioned, will often say something that will trip themselves up, especially those who feel that can never be caught.
Detectives have great skills in getting to the truth through interviewing.