Our sexual offence solicitors defend your reputation and your liberty. We never assume you are guilty.

A sexual allegation is hard to face - it burdens you and your family

A sexual offence allegation is very difficult to face. There's a stigma linked with this area of law. Once an accusation is made, an accused person can feel powerless or angry. A person can feel ashamed even if they have done nothing wrong. He or she can feel worried about the effect that finding out might have on family and relationships.

In sexual offence allegations, the accused person can feel like he or she is being made out to be guilty until proven innocent instead of the other way around. Social services might become involved if there are children in the house. The damage that is caused, whether or not the person is innocent, happens straight away and is hard to undo.

Having to wait for weeks or even months for the police and CPS to decide whether they will take it further, and months or even years more for the case to reach trial is a burden not just on the person who is accused, but also on his or her family.

Police and courts don't easily acknowledge an innocent person

One reason that this problem is hard to deal with is that the system treats an accused person in a way that is neither professional nor fair. Once an officer suspects that a person has committed an offence, that person's life can be turned upside down. The process of investigating the case can then go on for months or years, even if it seems clear that the allegation is false. Innocent people have to wait for the justice they deserve, and it can seem unbelievable that the justice system doesn't prioritise these cases.

Prosecutors who decide whether a case gets to court don't always have the full picture. Witnesses often hide key facts that would help the defence. Police often don't even try to obtain evidence that might help the defendant. This can result in cases reaching court when the complaint should never have left the police officer's notebook. It can also result in the defendant having to justify the position to the jury when evidence from the police could have helped.

With the right support you can improve the situation

You should be aware that there are positive steps you can take. The first is to accept what's going on, and start thinking about it as a problem you have to overcome, not something which you can't influence.

Getting advice and support from a family member or friend, and from an experienced sexual offence solicitor will help you put things in context, and see what can be done. You have to resist the temptation to just leave it and hope it will go away. Facing it head-on, you can begin to see the way through. A skilled sexual offence solicitor may be able to push on your behalf to have the case dropped. At the very least he or she will start building your defence so that you're the one still standing at the end. In some cases the defence will need to start investigating early. This could mean speaking to witnesses who will help you or making enquiries and testing evidence relating to the allegation, whether it's medical evidence, phone evidence, or even social media related.

Our sexual offence solicitors know what works to win

Over decades our sexual offence solicitors have developed tailored methods to deal with various types of sexual allegation. No two cases are the same but there are basic ingredients that we know work: We are proactive from the beginning, with the officer, with the CPS, and with the court. We take any avenue which might help your case, and we're persistent until we get the answer we want. We don't accept the complainant's version or the police's version. We do our own research, and if it's a technical case we get our own forensic witnesses to do new expert reports. We also brief specialist sexual offence barristers to advise on the case and speak on the client's behalf. This is especially important if the case reaches court. You deserve to be respected in court. This starts with your legal team making a powerful and lasting impression. If your case reaches court, our sexual offence solicitors will focus on the jury coming out for your side of the story, not for the prosecution's.

Concrete steps you can take right now to improve your chances

Important steps you can take to improve the situation:

• Call us or email and speak to one of our specialist sexual offence solicitors. We can speak initially on the phone, and then set up a face to face or zoom meeting. We won't pressure you. We only want you to be our client if we think we can help.

• Confide in a trusted friend or family member. Don't bear the weight of the situation on your own.

• Go to your GP if you aren't sleeping or you're anxious. You don't have to tell all the details to get help if your mental health is suffering.

Avoid doing these things:

• Don't just assume that everything will be OK without your input. Be proactive in your case. Stay in contact with your lawyers.

• Don't post anything on social media that could be interpreted as having something to do with the case, even about how you're feeling. Social media can be evidence.

• Don't contact any prosecution witnesses in the case.

• Don't delete text messages or any other evidence which could help you and your lawyers.