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Woman paid £35,000 over CPS’s decision to drop rape case after ‘sexsomnia’ claim (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago by girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world

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A woman has been awarded £35,000 in compensation from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after her rape case was dropped over claims that she could have had an episode of a rare sleep condition called sexsomnia.

Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, 32, contacted police in 2017, when she was 24, after waking up to discover she was half-naked, and with the sense that she had been raped while she slept.

Three years later – and days before the man charged with raping her was due to stand trial – lawyers from the CPS said her case was being dropped because two sleep experts said it was possible McCrossen-Nethercott had had an episode of sexsomnia – a medically recognised, but rare, sleep disorder which can cause a person to engage in sexual acts in their sleep, while appearing to be awake and consenting. The case was closed and the defendant acquitted.

In 2022, McCrossen-Nethercott sued the CPS after it admitted her rape case should not have been dropped. Now, the BBC has reported that she has been paid £35,000 by the CPS, which said it had “apologised unreservedly” to her and was “committed to improving every aspect of how life-changing crimes like rape are dealt with”.

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[-] JacksonLamb@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

why didn’t he run away sooner? Usually perpetrators escape after the abuse

No, they don't. Statistically the majority of rapes are by people who know the victim personally. In cases of intimate partner rape the perpetrator does not typically "run away from" his wife or girlfriend etc afterwards.

[-] sleen@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 weeks ago

Thanks for replying. I do see that there is some incompatibility with both our proof. However, I do realise that you're talking about perpetrators which are close to the victim - and that may yield a different response to that of a random person/ newly met person.

Suffice to say, it does make sense that persons closest to the victim would be the perpetrator.

this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2024

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