August 15th 2024.
In the news recently, there has been a case involving a woman who was awarded £35,000 in compensation after her rape case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service. This decision came amidst claims that she may have been experiencing an episode of sexsomnia. Let's dive into the details of this case.
Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, a 32-year-old woman, contacted the police in 2017 after waking up at a friend's house in south London. She had been out for the night and had a feeling that she had been assaulted in her sleep, as she was half-naked. However, after three long years of waiting for her case to go to trial, her lawyers were informed by the CPS that they were dropping the case. This news came just days before the trial was set to begin. The reason for this sudden change? Experts instructed by the alleged attacker claimed that Jade could have been experiencing sexsomnia, a rare condition where a person engages in sexual acts while asleep. This was despite the fact that the experts had never met or even spoken to Jade.
With the case closed and the suspect acquitted, Jade's lawyers were unable to test the validity of this claim in front of a jury. And unfortunately, the case cannot be reopened unless new evidence comes to light. Jade, feeling frustrated and let down by the legal system, decided to sue the CPS in 2022. The CPS admitted that the case should have gone to trial and a chief prosecutor, who was not involved in the original decision, even stated that it was highly likely that the suspect would have been convicted.
In an interview with the BBC, Jade expressed how the CPS had taken her to the darkest points of her life and how it felt like a big triumph to be able to hold them accountable. Kate Ellis, joint litigation lead at the Centre for Women's Justice, explained that it is legally difficult for victims to bring claims against the CPS and that payouts are extremely rare.
Jade went on to describe the alleged attack, saying that she woke up at 5am and immediately confronted the accused, asking him what had happened. His response was odd, to say the least. He claimed that he thought she was awake and then quickly left the room, leaving the door open. Jade reported the incident to the police, and semen was found during the vaginal swab test. This semen was later matched to the accused, who refused to comment during his interview with the police. In her statement, Jade briefly mentioned that she was a deep sleeper and had sleepwalked a few times as a teenager. However, this was not brought up again until the days leading up to the trial, when the sleep experts submitted their report stating that they could not rule out the possibility of an isolated episode of sexsomnia.
Jade described the decision to drop the case as being more damaging than the alleged attack itself. It turned her world upside down. She told the BBC that it was not about the financial side of things for her, but rather about pushing for systemic changes within the CPS and the legal system. She wants to see better training, policies, procedures, and practices in place. Despite the toll this case has taken on her, Jade remains proud of the work she and the Centre for Women's Justice have done to get to this point.
A spokesperson for the CPS has since issued an apology to Jade and confirmed that a settlement has been reached. They also expressed their desire for more progress to be made in improving outcomes for victims, so that more people feel confident in coming forward and reporting their experiences. It is clear that there is still a long way to go in the fight for justice and accountability.
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