Delivery Driver Accused of Rape - Police Drop Case

Case study summary

Our client was accused of rape. From his account, it was clear that he was in fact the one who had been sexually assaulted. We ensured that the police reviewed the case with this information, and supporting evidence, in mind. The case was then discontinued.

Case study

Our client was a 25-year-old delivery driver who had moved to the United Kingdom with his wife in 2020. In July 2023, he was accused of rape, arrested and interviewed. During his police interview, he instructed the duty solicitor to represent him. Our client then contacted us after the interview because he had seen case studies from our website which described situations which were similar to his and where we had been successful in preventing the case from going any further.

The complainant said she believed that our client was a taxi driver. She approached his car and asked him to drive her to a shop. Once they arrived at the shop, she says that our client locked her in the car whilst he purchased beer and condoms from the shop. Our client then allegedly drove the complainant back to her apartment where he raped her.

Our client denied the allegation. He explained that the complainant approached his car as he finished his last delivery job of the day. She asked him for a lift to a nearby shop. As it was dark and cold outside, he feared for the complainant's safety and agreed. Once they arrived at the shop, the complainant asked our client to go into the shop to purchase beer and condoms for her because she had already been drinking alcohol. Our client agreed but he did not suspect that the complainant had intended to use the condoms with him. He was also Muslim and does not drink alcohol himself.

Our client entered the shop but he did not lock his car as he did so. He returned to his car and the complainant then asked him to drive her to her apartment. During the journey, they discussed their lives. The complainant became aware that our client was a migrant and she told him that she worked in the visa and passport office. She said that they were friends now and she would help him with his upcoming visa application if he entered her apartment with her.

The complainant guided our client into her apartment. She then undressed them both and sexually assaulted our client. The complainant reassured him that what she was doing was fine because she would help him with his visa application afterwards.

We were saddened to hear about our client's case and the fact that he had been treated as the perpetrator. We obtained all of the information relevant to the case from the police and our client's previous solicitor. We then reviewed the evidence and requested further evidence from our client to support his case. Firstly, we requested photographs of the client's car. From the photographs, it was clear that the car did not display any signs to suggest that it was a taxi. The photographs from inside the car also showed that the car could be locked and unlocked from the inside so, the complainant’s account could not have been true. Furthermore, CCTV footage from the complainant's apartment showed that she had led our client there.

Our client had never been in trouble with the police before, neither in the United Kingdom nor in Pakistan. We obtained references from his wife and female colleagues who confirmed that he was a polite individual who had always made them feel safe when in his company.

We carefully presented our client's account, supported by our analysis of the evidence, to the officer in charge of the case. Four weeks later, the police confirmed that they would be taking no further action against our client. He and his wife were extremely relieved.