Rape complainants to be given right to second prosecution opinion

Rape complainants facing the prospect of their case being dropped by prosecutors will be able to ask for a second opinion under a pilot scheme to restore confidence in the criminal justice system.

Criminal cases can currently be stopped at any point if a prosecutor decides there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. In the West Midlands pilot, rape complainants will have the right to ask for their case to be reviewed by a different prosecutor before a final decision is made.

Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott campaigned for the change after the Crown Prosecution Service dropped her case two weeks before trial. Defence lawyers claimed she suffered from a rare sleep disorder known as 'sexsomnia'. A subsequent right to review found the prosecution should have gone ahead. ‘I was profoundly failed and let down by how my case was handled, but I’ve since seen people within the CPS who are genuinely working to make it better,’ McCrossen-Nethercott said.

In the pilot, complainants will be alerted early to the prospect of their case being stopped, enabling them to ask for a review by a different prosecutor. 'If the original decision is reversed then the case will continue, but even if it can’t, we hope that victims will have more confidence in the process and the earlier scrutiny of our decision making,' chief crown prosecutor Siobhan Blake said.

However, PCD Solicitors' Marcus Johnstone believes the pilot will have little impact on rape prosecution rates. ‘As a solicitor dealing exclusively with sexual defence, I have seen a huge increase in recent years in men being prosecuted for rape and sexual assault where the evidence is very weak,' Johnstone said. 'There is massive pressure on the police and CPS to prosecute - with the majority of sexual assault allegations now leading to a prosecution. If this pilot is expanded that trend will only be enhanced, with the result that more and more cases will be dropped part way through trial as the evidence doesn't withstand scrutiny.’

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