Heartbroken mum of teen who killed himself after false rape allegation found hanged at family home.

[redgreenandblue]

Heartbroken mum of teen who killed himself after false rape allegation found hanged at family home.

The heartbroken mum of a teenager who took his own life after being falsely accused of rape was found hanged in her family home.

The family of grief-stricken Karin Cheshire, 55, said she 'could not see a future' without son Jay Cheshire, 17, who took his own life after allegations of rape were made against him.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/heartbroken-mum-teen-who-killed-8518826#ICID=sharebar_twitte

Disclaimer: As far as I can tell from google searching, the Mirror is a mainstream, if somewhat tabloidish, British news source, which supports the Labor party. Wikipedia has a short list of outright falsehoods that appeared on the Mirror but overall it seems they are reliable. Not sure if the story should be taken with a grain of salt.

[usedtobedemgurl]

1. I only see where she withdrew her complaint....

I do not see where it actually says she withdrew the rape allegations because they were false. When a person comes forward they can be given a very hard time and withdraw their complaint just to make all of the accusations (what were you wearing? Did you drink? How many sex partners have you had? etc...) go away. This is what people do not understand when (I am talking to you George Will) they say that false accusations are made just for status purposes. I never reported my rape for this very reason but believe me when I say I lost a lot because of what happened to me.

[Ms. Yertle]

2. He never got the chance to clear his name

A rape accusation is serious business, and with no acquittal there would always be people who would suspect it was true. The accusation itself would follow him forever.

If I recall correctly, the Duke lacrosse case fell apart only because there was rock solid proof (a time-stamped receipt or something) that one person absolutely could not have been there at the time the "victim" claimed she was raped. Before that happened these (innocent) young men were dragged through the mud, and their coach lost his job. They were fortunate. Others have not been as fortunate.

I understand why a rape victim may choose to drop charges, but this is a sad situation for everyone involved.

[kcr]

3. What would you suggest?

Taking the ability to charge rape off the table? I don't understand your point, here.

[LisaL]

4. He wasn't actually charged with anything.

Allegations were made and withdrawn 2 weeks later.

[kcr]

6. Yes, I saw that.

Not sure why you're pointing that out to me.

[LisaL]

12. Because you used words "rape charge" in your post.

There were no charges.

[kcr]

13. edit

I think you were missing my point to hte person I was responding to. I was trying to make a point, see. Unless you understood my point and was agreeing, in which case I apologize. It's hard to tell on the internet.

[cleanhippie]

32. So what was your point then?

Because after rereading your post several times, the poster responded appropriately to your post.

What is your point when you say "taking the ability to charge rape off the table"?

[kcr]

34. I will try again

I was responding to someone who was bothered by the fact that he never got the chance to clear his name when the complaint was withdrawn. I was attempting to ask what they felt should be done about it. Take the ability to even make the claim to begin with? I honestly don't know why the fact he was never charged had to be pointed out to me. Yes, he was never actually charged. Which was why the person I was responding to was bothered in the first place. He never got to clear his name. I think it's pretty clear. I don't know what the confusion is.

[Ms. Yertle]

5. Um, of course not

Just saying that if he had had the opportunity to clear his name--confront his accuser in court, provide his defense and/or evidence of his innocence, that he may not have committed suicide.

[kcr]

7. That's a huge assumption, there.

You have no way of knowing that.

[Ms. Yertle]

8. Of course not

That's why I used the words "may not."

[kcr]

9. Oh, I see n/t

[LisaL]

10. Court is not there to clear ones name.

In US, there is not even an option of "innocent." It's guilty or not guilty. Not guilty doesn't mean innocent, it simply means not enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Furthermore, if this young man killed himself over allegations that were dropped, somehow I doubt he would have done better if the case had actually went to court. You don't think being charged and going on trial is stressful?

[treestar]

11. Maybe the solution to this sort of thing

is not to allow someone's name to be dirtied by a mere charge. The legal system cannot be perfect, that is, file charges only against the guilty. That's what the trial is for. Someone being accused but never convicted -it is those who still think he did it that are wrong. I guess people have to be strong enough to be "dragged through the mud." Or maybe they are not being dragged through the mud, but get the trial and the process to fight the allegation. It's just as unreasonable as when you have rape victims who don't want to go through all that, as if the accused should be found guilty without testimony and evidence, just to spare the victim the trial.

It's like demanding doctors get your diseased appendix out without the surgery, since the surgery is too uncomfortable. There's no other way. The prosecutor cannot bring a case without some standard being met as to evidence. Then they have burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutors are not gods, neither are judges. It is never going to be perfect.

[LisaL]

14. There were no charges.

There was an allegation which was dropped after 2 weeks. I don't see any solution for this sort of issue, as obviously one can not prevent somebody from making an allegation.

[treestar]

15. And then people should not think less of a person

who was subject of the allegation - I think that was my point. Allegation, charge, full trial with acquittal - people should be smart enough not to treat that person later as if they were guilty. Those are the ones who are the most wrong.

[davidn3600]

16. Try to get a job after being accused of a crime

It's amazing how lots of companies cleverly word their employment applications. In reality, they dont even want to hire people who are accused of a crime. I've known people who lost job offers the moment their employer found out there was even an accusation.

[cleanhippie]

33. Unfortunately, the real world doesn't work that way, especially when it comes to rape allegations.

[Seeking Serenity]

20. Maybe a good solution is to not name the accused

until there's a guilty or no-contest plea entered or a conviction at trial. Just like we don't generally name rape victims.

[LisaL]

22. He was a minor at the time of the accusation.

I don't think he would have been named anyway.

[Seeking Serenity]

23. Perhaps not (should not have been) in that particular case

I was speaking on more general terms. A better, broad-based policy.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

17. It's a left-wing tabloid, but still a tabloid.

The Mirror may be less morally repugnant than its right-wing brethren, but it's not much more concerned with the quality of its journalism.

The British press firmly believe that decent reporting deserves large pieces of paper to be printed on (or possibly glossy pages). A strange concern, but there you go. Never, ever trust anything you read in a British tabloid, even the mirror, unless you've seen it confirmed elsewhere.

[LisaL]

18. So what do you suggest? Should OP go to England to pick up a paper in print?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

19. I would suggest simply ignoring the Mirror (and all other British tabloids).

If you can find a story in a different, more reliable, source then use the other source. If you can't, ignore the story unless and until you can.

[LisaL]

21. List what you consider reliable sources.

[mercuryblues]

24. he was under

psychiatric care since the age of 13. Was the accusation enough to push him over the edge? We will never know. What we do know is that a false accusation and withdrawing a complaint are not the same thing, as stated above.

This is a sad story all around.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11905639/Teenager-falsely-accused-of-rape-commits-suicide.html

The court also heard he had a history of struggling with low moods, was put on anti-depressants and was due to undergo cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).

He had a psychiatrist since the age of 13 but in March this year his state of mind improved, leading to doctors agreeing that CBT was not urgently needed any more.

However in May, Jay's family contacted them once more saying he was under pressure because of the police investigation.

[LisaL]

25. He left several notes.

[Hoyt]

26. I've about come to conclusion we all need to wear body cams 24/7 for a lot of reasons.

[kcr]

27. Seriously. Someone might falesly accuse me of robbery! I live in fear... n/t

[Hoyt]

28. People get convicted of crimes they didn't commit. AND, some get away with crimes they did commit.

I wish George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin had a camera on, and I bet we can think of a lot more instances.

[kcr]

29. And yet somehow the victims of those other crimes aren't subject

to being accused of filing false claims. Even though it is indeed true that our justice system is far from perfect. So, why is it that victims of rape seem to get this distinct treatment?

[Hoyt]

30. I agree with what I think you are saying about victims of rape, especially the way victims are

treated after such trauma. There are a bunch of obvious cases of rape -- where there is clear evidence -- that the victim should not be subject to any bullying by police or defendants' attorneys. There are other cases -- a lot less I think -- where there has to be a better way to handle it, but just taking the only witness' version (either party) doesn't seem fair either. The assumption that the victim played a part is definitely wrong, though. I don't have all the answers, but surely think there has to be a better way to treat victims to encourage them to come forward early and to not feel it's their fault.

[kcr]

31. There has to be a better way to treat victims. Yes. That's the whole point.

The way they are treated and stigmatized is the point. The way this article made the leap to blaming the alleged victim for the suicide is just one example. Imagine if victims of other crimes got treated this way. Imagine a family of a murder victim got such treatment. Say new evidence came out in a trial that someone was actually innocent. Or, closer to the story in the OP, that someone who was investigated was cleared? Can you picture the media treating a murder victim's family the way? Haranguing them for ruining someone's life? I can't.

Do you think it's any different for any other crime when they "take only one witnesses' version?" Do you think this is just something that's special and only done for rape? That rape victims somehow get this privilege that no other witnesses get? Or that it is somehow weighted differently? Because that's not the case. A witness gets to testify and juries get to consider that evidence. That's how it works.