Rape and sexual assault victims can now mount a challenge if the prosecution of their criminal case is about to be dropped, under a new government pilot.
The changes, being trialled in the West Midlands with hopes of a national rollout to follow, come after a £35,000 Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) payout to Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott over the handling of her case.
She contacted police in 2017 to say she had been raped, but three years later the prosecution was abandoned on the eve of the trial, when the defence suggested she suffered from the rare condition “sexsomnia”.
Ms McCrossen-Nethercott said she was “profoundly failed and let down” by the system, as she was powerless to challenge the CPS decision to offer no evidence against the man she accused of rape.
The new pilot scheme will allow rape and sexual assault victims to challenge a decision to end their case in court, so that the move is first reviewed by a different prosecuting lawyer.
While the original decision may be backed, the second lawyer could conclude there is enough evidence to support a prosecution and the case will proceed to trial.
“I’m hugely excited about what this pilot could mean for victims, and I hope it proves successful enough to be rolled out across the country”, said Ms McCrossen-Nethercott, after campaigning for the change.
“This pilot is a crucial safeguard – one that could have completely changed the outcome in my case, and so many others like it.
“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.”
Ms McCrossen-Nethercott was 24-years-old when she went out with a friend in South London for a night-out, and ended up curled up on a sofa, fully-dressed, at a friend’s house.
At 5am, she woke up to find she was naked from the waist down and her necklace broken on the floor. Ms McCrossen-Nethercott, believing she had been raped, confronted the man lying on the other end of the sofa, and he replied: “I thought you were awake.”
She broke down crying uncontrollably on the phone to a friend as she revealed “I think I’ve been raped”, and together they went to police.
In her interview, Ms McCrossen-Nethercott mentioned in passing that she had sleepwalked a few times as a teenager and was generally a deep sleeper. Then just as the trial was about to start, she was hit with the news that ‘sexsomnia’ was being used as a defence and the CPS had concluded its case had been fatally undermined.
Solicitor General Lucy Rigby said the pilot scheme is part of the government’s efforts to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
“Campaigners and experts tell me that this is what they want, and I want to thank them for their advocacy on this vital issue”, she said.
“There is much more to do. But this is a further step towards the criminal justice system that victims deserve, and one which will ultimately make Britain’s streets safer.”
Rape and sexual assault survivors already have the chance to ask for a review of the criminal investigation, but have been powerless to intervene in decision-making once a case has gone to court.
Under the six-month pilot, if a decision is being made to offer no evidence against a defendant, the victim will receive a letter informing them of the move and their right to mount a challenge.
Reviews are expected to be completed within a month, with a panel then taking the final decision on the future of the case.
London’s Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman OBE, welcomed the pilot scheme after supporting Ms McCrossen-Nethercott’s campaign for more rights within the justice system.
“I witnessed first-hand the devastating impact of the CPS decision to offer no evidence”, she said.
“For her, the only outcome the Victim’s Right to Review (VRR) could provide at this critical time was an apology, and her case helped expose the fundamental shortcomings of the current VRR process.
“It has been a privilege to work with Jade in her tireless efforts to seek justice and push for much-needed reform. While this pilot is encouraging, the need for change is already clear. I urge Government not to delay, and to act now – these improvements can and should be implemented swiftly through the Victims and Courts Bill, so that all victims have meaningful access to justice.”
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