Silence during rape ‘could be seen as consent’

REMAINING silent during a rape could be seen as consent, the country’s most senior criminal prosecutor has suggested.

Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said a suspect in such a case could have a “reasonable belief ” that they had been given consent and so may not face prosecution.

Ms Saunders explained that the Crown Prosecution Service should act as “a protection” for both sides in the wake of a rape allegation and ensure that suspects are not wrongly put on trial.

Her comments follow the collapse of several rape cases amid wider public concern about the actions of police and prosecutors.

Oliver Mears, 19, an Oxford University student, became the latest rape defendant to have the case dropped, after two years on bail, following a review of evidence days before he was due to go on trial.

The Metropolitan Police has ordered a review of all its investigations into alleged rape and serious sexual assault after the collapsed trials of Liam Allan, 22, and Isaac Itiary, 25. And a case against Samson Makele, 28, was halted at Snaresbrook Crown Court last Monday after his defence team unearthed key images from his mobile phone, law firm Hodge Jones and Allen said.

Ms Saunders explained that when a rape allegation is made concerning people who know each other, prosecutors have a two-stage test, examining the capacity to consent and whether or not the suspect had a reasonable

‘You can see why … there was a reasonable belief they had consented’

belief in consent. “So, in some of the cases you can see why even though the complainant may think they were raped, there was a reasonable belief that they had consented, either through silence or through other actions or whatever,” she told the Evening Standard.

The contention that silence could amount to consent is likely to cause rancour among campaigners, but Ms Saunders insisted that prosecutors were aware that they were dealing with “people’s lives”.