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A student cleared of rape said he will sue police after they hid texts proving his innocence.
Liam Allan, a 22-year-old student in south-east London was on bail for two years after being charged with rape, for an alleged 12 sex attacks.
The case was thrown out last week when it was revealed that police had sat on 40,000 messages from his accuser. The messages included requests for “casual sex” and telling friends how much she enjoyed sleeping with him.
Liam faced 20 years in jail if guilty.
Speaking outside Croydon Crown Court, he told reporters: “I can’t explain the mental torture of the past two years. I feel betrayed by the system which I had believed would do the right thing — the system I want to work in.” and “For two years I haven’t slept properly.”
Liam, a criminology student, said he has “no choice” but to sue the Metropolitan Police over its failure to disclose this vital evidence earlier in the process. He added that he was “disappointed” he had not yet received an apology.
“University is meant to be the best years of your life and the last two years have been spent worrying,” he said. And “It has completely ripped apart my normal personal life.”
Detectives had repeatedly refused requests from defense lawyers to examine any such evidence, claiming there was nothing relevant to the case. The evidence only came to light after a newly-appointed prosecutor, Jerry Hayes, ordered the police hand over all of the phone records.
Prosecutor Hayes said: “I told the judge that this was the most appalling failure of disclosure that I have ever encountered.” Judge Peter Gower found the defendant not guilty on all counts and demanded an investigation “at the very highest level.”
Scotland Yard, the the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, said it would be carrying out an “urgent assessment” over what happened. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “We will now be conducting a management review together with the Metropolitan Police to examine the way in which this case was handled.”
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