Soldier cleared of rape is told: Now pay your ‘victim’ £100k
A SOLDIER cleared of rape has been ordered to pay his accuser more than £100,000 in a landmark civil case.
Guardsman Sean Diamond, 24, now faces being drummed out of the Army following the ruling in Scotland.
The serviceman stood trial accused of raping a woman while she slept, but a jury found the case not proven – a legal ruling that does not exist in the rest of Britain. It has now emerged that his alleged victim pursued a civil action for damages – and won the claim after it was not defended by Mr Diamond.
It is the first time in almost a century a woman has been awarded damages in a civil action in Scotland after an unsuccessful rape prosecution in a criminal court.
Yesterday, the woman said it had finally brought justice. ‘ For me it’s not about the money, nothing’s ever going to make that situation go away,’ she told BBC Scotland.
‘It’s never going to take the pain away, the sleepless nights, but it’s some sort of closure for me to then be able to move on in my life and know I’ve done everything I physically could to take some sort of action.’
At a four- day rape trial at Edinburgh High Court last October, the woman claimed she woke to find Mr Diamond sexually assaulting her.
Prosecutors claimed he pinned her down and pushed her head into a sofa with such force she fell unconscious. Mr Diamond denied carrying out the attack at a flat in Dundee in July 2015 while he was serving with the Queen’s Dragoon Guards at RAF Leuchars in Fife. The case was found not proven – a third verdict available to juries in Scotland – and he walked free.
His accuser, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she spiralled into depression following the alleged incident.
Explaining how it also harmed her job and social life and caused her to put on three stone in weight, she added: ‘My life was ruined. I was a bro- ken person. I felt like a prisoner inside my own head.
‘I turned from being a person who had no fear to someone who was too scared to go out. I lived in fear without the physical or mental strength to protect myself.’
Of the not proven verdict, she said: ‘I felt so let down by the system. I know the police had done everything they could, but the jury and the Crown let me down. I didn’t believe he should have been able to... walk free and live a normal life. I found that heartbreaking.’
A civil action was launched in Dundee against Diamond in June and a sheriff ruled against him without hearing any evidence when he did not defend it. He issued a decree for payment of £100,000 plus interest.
An Army spokesman said Diamond now faces ‘administrative action’ which could result in his dismissal from the military. The alleged victim’s lawyer declined to comment.
A spokesman from Rape Crisis Scotland called the damages a ‘significant moment for rape survivors’, adding: ‘This decision will send a message to other survivors that there is another route available to them to pursue redress.
‘It is also time that the not proven verdict was abolished: jury members can be reluctant to convict in rape cases, even where there is significant evidence.’