Okay i will try to give the best account of the court proceedings as i can, it has ben six years since i prosecuted my stepfather (My abuser) but i will give an account from when the police were involved, please also consider that when i took him to court i was 16 so technically still a child and the way they treat 'young people' may be different to adults.

I told someone, my mothers new boyfriend who in turn told my mother. The police were called and had a brief talk about the situation. Over a period of several days they came over and wrote down what i told them about the abuse in the form of a statement, my stepfather was then arrested and bailed. We were given a panic button and several other resources, personal alarms and such to be used if my stepfather tried to contact us or came to our location as we were in a safe house of sorts which the police moved us to.

I also had to have a medical examination, even though the abuse was a year or so earlier. This was because they can tell roughly when your innocence (sorry i dont like saying the correct word) was lost. From what i was told they only do this with children as adults are more likely to have had more sexual partners since the abuse

I was given a liason officer who was someone i could talk to, i found this very helpful. We were kept up to date on everything with the police. It took about 9 months before it went to court, this did feel like forever but about a month after the original arrest my stepfather broke bail by coming near us and was held in police custody until the trial.

The trial was held at a Crown Court, which is like the courts you see on television. I was taken for a tour around the court before the trial started and given a book on how the court system worked and such like.

Throughout the court cases the Liason officer to myself was like a bodyguard, it made me feel much better she stood below me when i was in the witness box and made me feel confident. Also throughout the court case i was not allowed to see any member of my family who was also giving evidence, due to contamination of evidence. But the liason officer was with me every step of the way.

There was a jury, and 2 QCs (Very high barristers, Queens Council) on either side, the prosecusion and the defence, and the judge. There was a screen between me and the docks where my stepfather was held so i didnt have to see him, but i believe you have to request for a screen.

I gave my evidence, i admit it wasnt easy but i was spurred on by both my hate for my abuser and the fact i didnt want him to hurt anyone else. The first case went on for about 3 weeks i believe. It was found Hung Jury which means not all the jury agreed, apparently during a abuse or rape trial it is common for the Jury to have to agree on at least a ratio of 10:2 which sounds high i know but its not that bad.

Two weeks later the second trial commenced, and after about a week and after i had given my evidence it was all thrown out on a technicality.

About a week later it all started again and was starting to get very tiresome and to be honest i was on the verge of giving up, but i was still driven on, i had come this far, it was pointless in giving up. We won, the jury ratio was 12:0 he was sentanced to 12 years. So far he has been inside for 6 but is due to undergo a parol hearing soon, apparently the 12 years is not inside but its supposedly 12 years until they are 'rehabiliated'. I saw a liason officer last week and they said he will be on a register and and be 'on licence' this means if he breaks any terms of his release he will be inside for another 12 years. The liason officer also came to my home to talk to me about what conditions i wanted for his release things like, him not to contact me, and where he should not be allowed to go etc. They also offered me alot of support to do with Victim support and such.

It did effect my family alot, but i believe this is because we have never talked about what happened and i am working on ways to talk about it now, 6 years later. My sisters were abused to, but the youngest being only 2 when it started could not remember enough for it to go to court, Lisa my other sister was about 13 at the time of trial and he was found not guilty on her, although to this day she does not know that.

The police and court process was hard, very hard, i wont sugar coat it, but it is worth it, it really is, to know that the person who hurt you can not hurt another (at least while they are inside) i see the victory of my now ex stepfather being one for everyone,.

I know i have gone on a bit, but i thought instead of the court case alone i would go from start to finish starting from the police and ending with his possible release...

I hope this helps you and please dont give up however hard it is, it is worth it..


Blessings

Kelly

-- Edited by Brujah81 at 13:07, 2004-09-13

It was hard but worth it... i said my true feelings, we were just unlucky we had to go through it three times, but i suppose at the end of the day its the jury who choose what they think.... as hard as it sounds when in the witness box try not to miss anything out.

Blessings

Kelly