A Girl Killed Herself After She Was Accused Of Lying About Rape Eleanor De Freitas was taken to court by her alleged rapist even though police had recorded the crime as a rape... The father of an alleged rape victim who killed herself days before a trial against her for allegedly lying has made a plea to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to re-evaluate these sorts of cases.
Eleanor de Freitas, who was diagnosed bipolar, was 23 when she hanged herself earlier this year. In January 2013, she had gone to the police to report that she had allegedly been drugged and raped by a man she knew, reports The Guardian.
Following a police investigation, the alleged perpetrator was arrested, but the CPS didn't take it further as it looked unlikely they'd get enough evidence together to get him convicted.
According to Eleanor's father, she tried to forget about the incident and got on with her life. However, the alleged perpetrator decided to prosecute her for allegedly lying about the rape. Lawyers for the CPS were now making a case against Eleanor for perverting the course of justice. The trial was due to begin on 7th April, but on 4th April, she killed herself.
An inquest into her death begins today, and a jury will decide whether the CPS's decision to prosecute contributed to her death. At present, it's known that in her suicide notes, she described her overwhelming fear of giving evidence as one reason for committing suicide.
Eleanor's father, David de Freitas, told The Guardian: 'Eleanor was a vulnerable young woman, diagnosed with bipolar, who made a complaint of rape as a result of which she herself became the subject of legal proceedings. This was despite the fact the police did not believe there to be a case against her.'
'There are very serious implications for the reporting of rape cases if victims fear that they may themselves end up the subject of a prosecution if their evidence is in any way inconsistent. It is of the utmost importance that the CPS consider very carefully whether such cases are in the public interest.'
He then added: 'I feel that the system of fairness in this country has let me down terribly, and something needs to be done so that this can never happen again.'
Charities such as Victim Support and Justice for Women have written to Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions to express their concerns for this case and to show how concerned they are for the safety of rape complainants if the threat of the law can be used against them.
Saunders released this statement in response: 'I have asked the team which dealt with this case for a full explanation which addresses all of the De Freitas family’s concerns. I appreciate the family’s unease which is why I am looking at this personally in order to satisfy myself of the detail surrounding all the stages of the case.'
She added that the issues surrounding this case are 'rare, extremely difficult and always complex and sensitive. This case was one of the most difficult I have seen.'
Let's hope a change comes about to make sure this sort of stuff never happens again; it's bad enough that only 15% of women and girls who experience sexual violence never report it to the police.
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.