Rape victims can challenge dropped cases after sexsomnia fiasco

Telegraph

a day ago

Victims of rape and serious sexual assaults will get the right to challenge prosecutors' decisions to drop their cases.
Labour is to pilot a scheme in which rape victims can secure an independent review if prosecutors are planning to abandon their case because they believe there is insufficient evidence.
Under the current system, criminal cases can be stopped at any point if a prosecutor decides there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.
Under changes announced on Thursday, victims of rape or serious sexual abuse will be offered the right for a different independent prosecutor to review the evidence before any final decisions are made. If that prosecutor determines there is enough evidence, the case will continue.
The move follows a campaign by Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, 32, after her rape case was dropped amid claims that she could have had an episode of 'sexsomnia'.
An 'important first step'
Ms McCrossen-Nethercott received £35,000 in compensation and an apology from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for its decision to drop the case before the evidence had been tested in court.
She contacted police in 2017 because she thought she had been raped while asleep. She said she had woken up half-naked, finding her necklace broken on the floor.
But charges were dropped by the CPS days before a trial was scheduled to begin after lawyers for the alleged perpetrator claimed Ms McCrossen-Nethercott had sexsomnia – a medically recognised, but rare, sleep disorder that causes a person to engage in sexual acts while asleep.
She welcomed the pilot scheme to be run in the West Midlands as an 'important first step'.
'It can't undo the harm already done to victims like me, but it's real, tangible progress, and I hope it marks the beginning of a fairer system, one where victims' voices are not just heard, but acted on,' said Ms McCrossen-Nethercott.
Victims already have the right to challenge a decision not to charge suspects once it has been taken, but the pilot scheme will extend that right to before prosecutors decide to drop a case.
'Make Britain's streets safer'
Lucy Rigby, Labour MP and Solicitor General, wrote in an article for The Telegraph: 'The existing scheme is already an important tool in delivering justice, but this new commitment from the CPS will extend that right, so that victims are further empowered to question decisions made in their cases, resulting in fewer cases falling through the cracks and more offenders brought to justice.
'Beginning on Friday, the pilot will become operational in the West Midlands. If it is a success, we will look to extend this across the country to support all victims of rape and serious sexual assaults.
'We know there is much to do to fix the justice system. But this is a vital step towards building the system that victims deserve and ultimately make Britain's streets safer.'
Just one in 40 (2.6 per cent) rape offences resulted in a charge in the year ending March 2024, up from 2.1 per cent in the previous year, but a fraction of the 12 per cent charge rate in 2014.
Labour has committed to halving violence against women and girls and will publish its strategy on how to achieve that this summer.
The plan has inherited a series of initiatives by the last government and police, including an overhaul to focus investigations on perpetrators rather than testing the credibility of victims.
Police chiefs have pledged to apply the same investigative and disruptive tactics to rapists as they do to organised crime bosses, where they are pursued by police even if victims withdraw their complaints.
We can't leave victims to go on suffering
Our broken criminal justice system is in dire need of repair, which is why our pilot scheme aims to empower victims of rape and sexual assault to question decisions made in their cases, writes Lucy Rigby KC MP.
Too often, victims of violence against women and girls are let down by our criminal justice system, compounding what is already a traumatic experience.
I have strong views on the reasons why. Chief among them: 14 years of governments whose approach was nothing short of negligent.
This resulted in too few bobbies on the beat, overflowing prisons and a record backlog in our courts, leaving victims of very serious crimes waiting years to see perpetrators in court. In short, a broken criminal justice system in desperate need of repair.
The impact on victims and public trust in the justice system was significant. A creaking criminal justice system undermines one of the basic principles fundamental to our democracy: the rule of law. That is to say the law applies to everyone equally and all must have access to justice.
This happened despite the work of thousands of dedicated public servants to protect us all. I've met many of them – including the prosecutors from across the country that dedicate their careers to sifting through evidence, often in harrowing crimes, to build a case and pursue justice on behalf of victims.
Empowering rape victims
This Government has begun the difficult task of fixing our criminal justice system as part of the Plan for Change, in which we pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
To achieve this, we are putting domestic abuse specialists into 999 control rooms, introducing new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, doing more to effectively tackle spiking, stalking and coercive behaviour. That means better support in place for victims and giving them the confidence that specialists are helping them.
These changes will also see more police on our streets, locking up abusers, but importantly – getting quicker justice and support for those suffering at the hands of perpetrators of these horrific crimes.
As Solicitor General, I've heard heart-wrenching accounts of women's experience of the criminal justice system – sometimes lasting years – which have seriously impacted their mental health, wellbeing and relationships.
We cannot let this go on, which is why we are ensuring that adult victims of rape and serious sexual offences will have access to a dedicated victim liaison officer, as well as pre-trial meetings, so that they feel more prepared for court.
The right to question
But we have to do more. In particular, it is vital that our criminal justice system further empowers victims to best navigate it.
It was Prime Minister Keir Starmer who, as the director of public prosecutions, launched the Victims' Right to Review Scheme in 2013, to give victims and bereaved families the right to challenge decisions not to charge suspects or drop cases.
Leading victims' rights voices, like Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, the Centre for Women's Justice, Dame Vera Baird and Claire Waxman OBE, the Victims' Commissioner, have recognised the success of this scheme and that is why we are extending it to better support more victims.
A new pilot launched this week will give survivors of rape and serious sexual assault the right to have their case reviewed before CPS makes any final decisions.
Currently, criminal cases can be stopped at any point if a prosecutor decides there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. For the first time, survivors of rape or serious sexual abuse will be offered the right to request a review by a different prosecutor before their case is dropped.
Where a review finds that the initial decision was wrong, the case against the accused will continue.
A system victims deserve
The existing scheme is already an important tool in delivering justice, but this new commitment from the CPS will extend that right, so that victims are further empowered to question decisions made in their cases, resulting in fewer cases falling through the cracks and more offenders brought to justice.
Beginning on Friday, the pilot will become operational in the West Midlands. If it is a success, we will look to extend this across the country to support all victims of rape and serious sexual assaults.
We know there is much to do to fix the justice system. But this is a vital step towards building the system that victims deserve and ultimately make Britain's streets safer.