Man, 73, is arrested after a woman told police her own birth is proof her mother was raped by her father when she was 13-years-old
- The woman said DNA evidence and birth certificates would prove her case
- The woman ‘Vicky’ asked police to consider a so-called ‘victimless prosecution’
- Man arrested has been released on bail police said CPS advice will be sought
A man has been arrested and released on police bail after a woman claimed she was conceived during an underage rape.
‘Vicky,’ a name given to the woman to protect her anonymity, alleged her mother was just 13 when her father, who she said was a family friend and in his 30s at the time, raped her.
She put forward the argument that DNA evidence combined with her own birth certificate and her mother’s would prove the age at which her mother became pregnant and would lead to a conviction for unlawful sexual intercourse.
‘Vicky’ was adopted in the 1970s at seven months old.
‘Vicky,’ a name given to the woman to protect her anonymity, alleged her mother was just 13 when her father, who she said was a family friend and in his 30s at the time, raped her
Speaking to the the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme, ‘Vicky’ said: ‘it’s positive that things have progressed.’
Once the woman became an adult she began searching for her birth mother and discovered from a social worker and her own records, that her conception was alleged to be a result of rape.
However, despite the allegations, nothing was reported to police at the time.
She was reunited with her mother, who didn’t want to report the matter to police.
‘It wasn’t until decades later when the Jimmy Saville case and other historic cases were in the news that I really thought about doing anything about it,’ ‘Vicky’ said.
She decided to report the case to West Midlands police and asked them to consider a so-called ‘victimless prosecution’ for alleged unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, known as statutory rape.
After a years-long fight for prosecutors to take up the case, she said she welcomed the development telling the BBC she was ‘determined to get things changed, so that others don’t go through what I’ve been through’.
‘I wanted justice for my mum, I wanted justice for me,’ she said.
‘Vicky’ added that her whole life has been affected by allegations that she was born of a crime and said the definition of what constitutes a victim should be looked at and changed.
Previously, Vicky said that she was told by police, social services, solicitors and MPs that no case could be made as she was ‘not the alleged victim of the crime.’
According to CPS guidance, victimless prosecutions, officially termed as evidence-based, can be used in domestic abuse or rape cases, when the victim has withdrawn or declines to give a statement, but it is in the public interest to pursue a prosecution.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: ‘A 73-year old man was re-arrested and interviewed last week following further evidence coming to light. He was released on bail. CPS advice will now be sought.’
According to the BBC the CPS decision as to whether there will be any charges should be known in about a month.