Pure incompetence
Rape police sat on texts that revealed ‘victim’ pestered student for sex
A massive miscarriage of justice has been narrowly avoided JERRY HAYES RAPE CASE PROSECUTOR
A JUDGE ordered a probe after police sat on evidence that proved a man on trial for rape was innocent.
Liam Allan, 22, spent two years on bail accused of 12 offences against the same woman before lawyers were shown texts in which she pestered him to have casual sex.
Scotland Yard is understood to have had a disk containing 40,000 of her messages but did not disclose them until the case was close to trial.
Prosecutor Jerry Hayes claimed the officer in charge told him they were “too personal” to share.
But in fact they told friends how much she had enjoyed sex with Mr Allan and “blew the case out of the water”.
Detectives had failed to look at them because of “sheer incompetence”.
Mr Hayes said: “I asked the officer ‘Could anything on that disk undermine the prosecution or assist the defence?’
“He said ‘No’ but I wasn’t happy with that. I thought the defence should have that disk and on it they saw information the blew the case out of the water.
“A massive miscarriage of justice has been narrowly avoided.”
At Croydon crown court, South London, Judge Peter Gower dismissed all charges and called for an inquiry at the highest level, adding: “Something has gone very, very wrong.”
Mr Allan, a criminology student from Penge, South East London, said: “I feel betrayed. I didn’t know the police had phone records.”
He added that sex was consensual and the woman invented the claims after he refused to see her again.
Asked about an apology he said: “I have been dragged through hell for the last two years. An apology doesn’t cut it .”
Scotland Yard said: “We are carrying out an urgent assessment.” The Crown Prosecution Service added: “We will conduct a review with the police.”