Sept 14, 2010
'Mud sticks, I just couldn't handle it,' says victim of rape lies
An innocent man who was falsely accused of rape by his ex-girlfriend today told how the lies had twice driven him to attempt suicide.
Father-of-two David Lord, 23, was arrested and detained in a police cell for six-and-a-half hours after obsessed Elizabeth Wilkinson falsely claimed he had raped her four times.
He had his fingerprints and DNA taken, lived a nightmare for a month before being told no action was being taken against him by police.
Today shop assistant Wilkinson, 21, of Oswaldtwistle, Lancaster, was starting a 12-month jail sentence after she admitted perverting the course of justice.
After the case, Mr Lord said: 'When the police came knocking on my door my whole life was turned upside down.
'I just couldn't believe what i was being accused of and all the stigma that goes with it. Being branded a rapist is a horrible experience and my first thought was for my children.
'This woman was ruining their lives as well as my own. It just such a relief when police realised what she saying was all lies. But I had to be put on medication for severe depression and I tried to kill myself twice, once by hanging.
'I just couldn't handle it. Mud sticks. All I want now is closure and to rebuild my life. I think she thoroughly deserved to go prison for what she put my children through.'
Burnley Crown Court was told Mr Lord met Wilkinson through Facebook last September when she sent a message to him on the social networking site saying he looked 'sexy'.
Miss Fiorella Brereton, prosecuting, said the pair swapped numbers and Wilkinson phoned him to speak at length and sent him intimate pictures.
They arranged to go to the cinema and Wilkinson said she would pay.
There was nothing to watch so they went back to Mr Lord's home and had drinks with his flatmate.
During the evening Wilkinson texted Mr Lord whilst they were in the living room together and the messages became intimate.
He told her they were not going to have sex that night as it was their first date and he did not know her well enough.
But Mrs Brereton said Wilkinson became moody, wanted to stay and said she was going to sleep with Mr Lord and that was all and he agreed.
Father-of-two David Lord, 23, was arrested and detained in a police cell for six-and-a-half hours after obsessed Elizabeth Wilkinson falsely claimed he had raped her four times.
He had his fingerprints and DNA taken, lived a nightmare for a month before being told no action was being taken against him by police.
Today shop assistant Wilkinson, 21, of Oswaldtwistle, Lancaster, was starting a 12-month jail sentence after she admitted perverting the course of justice.
After the case, Mr Lord said: 'When the police came knocking on my door my whole life was turned upside down.
'I just couldn't believe what i was being accused of and all the stigma that goes with it. Being branded a rapist is a horrible experience and my first thought was for my children.
'This woman was ruining their lives as well as my own. It just such a relief when police realised what she saying was all lies. But I had to be put on medication for severe depression and I tried to kill myself twice, once by hanging.
'I just couldn't handle it. Mud sticks. All I want now is closure and to rebuild my life. I think she thoroughly deserved to go prison for what she put my children through.'
Burnley Crown Court was told Mr Lord met Wilkinson through Facebook last September when she sent a message to him on the social networking site saying he looked 'sexy'.
Miss Fiorella Brereton, prosecuting, said the pair swapped numbers and Wilkinson phoned him to speak at length and sent him intimate pictures.
They arranged to go to the cinema and Wilkinson said she would pay.
There was nothing to watch so they went back to Mr Lord's home and had drinks with his flatmate.
During the evening Wilkinson texted Mr Lord whilst they were in the living room together and the messages became intimate.
He told her they were not going to have sex that night as it was their first date and he did not know her well enough.
But Mrs Brereton said Wilkinson became moody, wanted to stay and said she was going to sleep with Mr Lord and that was all and he agreed.
Wilkinson asked him to get a bag from her car, she then got undressed and they had sex.
The prosecutor said : 'There was no aggressive or violent behaviour on the part of Mr Lord. She left the following morning and started sending text messages to him.'
Later Wilkinson bombarded Mr Lord with text messages, claiming she knew a lot about him and his personal life.
He texted back to say he was concerned she was a little bit too close to his family but Wilkinson then sent further messages saying she wanted to punch his face and sent the mother of one of his children an abusive Facebook message.
When Mr Lord told Wilkinson he wanted nothing more to do with her she then cried rape to one of his relatives.
She claimed Mr Lord had wanted sex, had been 'aggressive and intimidating' and she couldn't stop it. She alleged it happened four times.
Later on September 29, Wilkinson went to the police station, made a complaint about the victim and was examined by a doctor.
She insisted to officers she had not wanted sex and said she was drunk, confused, shocked and couldn't believe Mr Lord's behaviour.
Mr Lord was arrested on October 1, spent six-and-a-half hours in police custody but when he gave a very different account of what happened, officer spoke to Wilkinson again.
When police gave her the chance to change her account if she wanted, Wilkinson became 'agitated and aggressive' and said she was the victim.
She refused to give police permission to search her car.
Enquiries continued and Wilkinson was arrested.
She accused the police of saying things to her which had resulted in her lying and still insisted she had been raped.
Police had found more than 80 text messages from her on Mr Lord's phone.
The victim was told on November 1 the investigation against him was being discontinued.
In mitigation Mark Stuart, for Wilkinson, said: 'She had major issues that went back a long way and would need long term psychological therapy. She wants to apologise to Mr lord, the police, court and her family.
'She is undoubtedly suffering from chronic depression and has had some unwanted attention but she has brought that on herself. She has found that very, very difficult to cope with.'
Passing sentence Judge Beverley Lunt said: 'Rape is a repulsive crime and victims should be treated with every possible consideration by the justice system but false allegations can have dreadful consequences.
'You were a woman scorned. Whatever your personal past and problems the one person who wasn't at fault for anything that may have happened to you in the past was this man.'
Det Sgt Stephen Holgate said: 'False reports of rape divert police resources from genuine cases and in making this false allegation Wilkinson has undermined the genuine victims of this horrific crime.'
The prosecutor said : 'There was no aggressive or violent behaviour on the part of Mr Lord. She left the following morning and started sending text messages to him.'
Later Wilkinson bombarded Mr Lord with text messages, claiming she knew a lot about him and his personal life.
He texted back to say he was concerned she was a little bit too close to his family but Wilkinson then sent further messages saying she wanted to punch his face and sent the mother of one of his children an abusive Facebook message.
When Mr Lord told Wilkinson he wanted nothing more to do with her she then cried rape to one of his relatives.
She claimed Mr Lord had wanted sex, had been 'aggressive and intimidating' and she couldn't stop it. She alleged it happened four times.
Later on September 29, Wilkinson went to the police station, made a complaint about the victim and was examined by a doctor.
She insisted to officers she had not wanted sex and said she was drunk, confused, shocked and couldn't believe Mr Lord's behaviour.
Mr Lord was arrested on October 1, spent six-and-a-half hours in police custody but when he gave a very different account of what happened, officer spoke to Wilkinson again.
The court heard how Mr Lord met Wilkinson through the social-networking site Facebook last September
She refused to give police permission to search her car.
Enquiries continued and Wilkinson was arrested.
She accused the police of saying things to her which had resulted in her lying and still insisted she had been raped.
Police had found more than 80 text messages from her on Mr Lord's phone.
The victim was told on November 1 the investigation against him was being discontinued.
In mitigation Mark Stuart, for Wilkinson, said: 'She had major issues that went back a long way and would need long term psychological therapy. She wants to apologise to Mr lord, the police, court and her family.
'She is undoubtedly suffering from chronic depression and has had some unwanted attention but she has brought that on herself. She has found that very, very difficult to cope with.'
Passing sentence Judge Beverley Lunt said: 'Rape is a repulsive crime and victims should be treated with every possible consideration by the justice system but false allegations can have dreadful consequences.
'You were a woman scorned. Whatever your personal past and problems the one person who wasn't at fault for anything that may have happened to you in the past was this man.'
Det Sgt Stephen Holgate said: 'False reports of rape divert police resources from genuine cases and in making this false allegation Wilkinson has undermined the genuine victims of this horrific crime.'
No comments:
Post a Comment