Tangram

I always wondered, legally speaking, with these historic allegations ( and especially the post-mortum Saville nonce allegations amongst others who have been convicted ) how things are proven that the alleged did the things they are accused of with no forensics or witnesses apart from the accusers ?

Almost Canadian

I believe Jonathan King made the same comment after he was convicted. He argued that, essentially, the burden of proof is reversed and the assailant is deemed to be guilty unless they can unequivocally prove that it couldn't have happened. That is also the danger with having lots of accusers. The thought that, "They couldn't all be making this up" becomes a big issue. That is the reason why, typically, the fact that someone has been convicted of 100 burglaries is kept from the Court until they have actually been convicted of the 101st burglary. The counter argument is to suggest that such a number could not possibly have colluded to give the same MO.

The reality is that it comes down to trier of the evidence. If they like the accuser and don't like the accused, they will convict, and vice versa.

Tangram

Thank you for that. Yes I was aware of the priors having done jury service many moons ago.

With my post I wasn't alluding to either the accusers lying nor the accused being innocent. I was 'interested' in this whole sordid business.

Almost Canadian

I appreciate that.

It is an issue as, essentially, there is no physical evidence and it comes down to a he said/she said argument, which is the same in most sexual assaults, but with the additional problem of the passage of time.

BristolUK

It probably doesn't do your case much good if, after an accusation, your publicist releases a statement to the effect that you are "taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment” and then there are a whole bunch of further allegations.

Shard

I suppose when there are multiple accusers, and their recollections portray a consistent pattern of behaviour, which can be further corroborated by time and place date, reasonable doubt can be overcome. What's slightly surprising with recent incidents is that nobody turned their iPhone recorder on to capture some audio evidence.

dbd33

You mean record a sexual encounter without the consent of the other party or parties? I see some problems with that idea.

Shard

Actually, I think I saw a new device at PC World which is like a clip on button that is a kind of dashcam for the person. It's aimed at 'capturing all of life's spontaneous moments' and you can imagine a simple lightweight tech like that becoming commonplace in situations where someone is at risk of compromise.

BristolUK

After all those selfies, is there any space left?

BristolUK

Just a thought...will it be appropriate to have the least likely to kick out of bed (M/F) category in the next BE awards?

Former Lancastrian

Im pretty sure we had it last year and the years before unless some BE poster male or female objects on the grounds that they have never been considered or voted for

mikelincs

In the current climate of associated problems, perhaps not a good idea?..

Almost Canadian

How long before Kermit makes a claim against Ms. Piggy?

jerryhung

And the answer, of course, is imminently.

Siouxie

Kermit was arrested last night. When the police raided his pad his computer was full of inappropriate images of Miss Piggy.

A police spokesman said its the worst case of frogspawn he has ever seen.