I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move. It’s not just betrayal you feel — it’s pure fear
HE was a typical middle- class student, studying diligently for a degree in – of all things – criminology.
But Liam Allan’s life was ‘turned upside down’ when he was falsely accused of horrific sex attacks, with police arresting him in front of his mother.
The 22-year-old said he first thought the officers could be linked to his course in at the University of Greenwich.
But after being subjected to a gruelling six-and-a-half hour interview the undergraduate realised he was accused of appalling crimes.
In an emotional interview last night, he said his bank worker mother Lorraine, 46, was the first to leap to his defence.
He said: ‘My mum knew from the start, I mean I was arrested in front of my mum.’
‘I was kept there for about six-and-ahalf hours before being released after being interviewed and that was when I was allowed to tell my mum, “OK, this is what has happened.”
‘From then on, my mum went into overdrive, “how can we do anything?” And then when you find out about a month in there is nothing you can do.’
Mr Allan, from Beckenham, south east London, was four months into his undergraduate course when he was arrested on suspicion of rape. As his world collapsed
‘Everything gets torn away’
around him, he was told he could face up to 20 years in prison alongside violent sex offenders.
He recalled the horrific moment when he was told about the crimes he was accused of: ‘I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move. It is not like you could have ever even imagined how you would feel, it is not just betrayal that you feel, it is pure fear.’
Mr Allan, an avid Liverpool fan, went to a local solicitor where he had done work experience – and also put his trust in police gathering the evidence he knew would acquit him.
He said he ‘told everyone’ what had taken place because ‘I knew I had not done anything wrong.’ But he added: ‘You are all on your own.’
There was no news for 14 months, until in March police told him he was being charged with six rapes and one sexual assault.
Mr Allan said: ‘I felt completely isolated at every stage of the process. I feel betrayed by the system which I had believed would do the right thing.
‘I could not talk to my mother about the details of the case because she might have been called as a witness.
‘I couldn’t go out there and get the evidence to show I am innocent – I relied on the police to do that.
‘I didn’t know they had [the complainant’s] telephone records. I assumed they must have been deleted.’
It was not until Thursday afternoon at Croydon Crown Court that his nightmare ended, when a judge finally threw the case out. Jerry Hayes, the prosecutor in the case, said: ‘I would like to apologise to Liam Allan. There was a terrible failure in disclosure which was inexcusable.’
Mr Allan said of his ordeal: ‘It flips your whole life upside down. Everything you build up for yourself, it can be torn away and you become aware of that. You realise how much you have to lose.’ In total, he spent almost two years on bail and three days in the dock. He said: ‘I kept thinking about what would happen to my mum if I went away, what would happen to my flatmates who would have to pay all the rent on their own. ‘I am the person they all turn to for support but I would not have been around.’ He said he feared there had been an ‘over-compensation’ by police and prosecutors for failures in the past to investigate celebrity sex offenders. ‘Because of mistakes in the past they seem to want to do everything you can to get a conviction. Conviction rates have become like sales targets.’ His mother was at the centre of his gaggle of friends who hugged him as he walked free from court.
‘She said: ‘In the current climate, in these sorts of cases, you are guilty until you can prove you are innocent. The assumption is there is no smoke without fire.
‘The jury would have expected that they would have been told of anything significant. It would have been Liam’s word against hers. I knew the truth.’
Julia Smart, who represented Mr Allan, described him as an ‘impeccable young man’, adding: ‘He is thoroughly likable, an exemplary character.’
A friend said: ‘ He is the nicest guy. He is a lovely person and a really gentle character. You would be hard pressed to find a gentler guy. I just feel so sorry for him.’