A message of hope from the AccusedMe conference 2026

Editor's note: The following is an article in two parts from two seperate speeches fthat were given at the AccusedMe conferences 2025 and 2025. It offers advice to victims of false allegations and hope for a brighter future. The author remains anaymous.

1

I was 16 years old, studying at sixth form. A few days after new years, I was doing homework in my room which I had forgotten was due in the next day. It was around 9pm when four police officers turned up at my house. They told me I was being arrested for sexual assault and handcuffed me straight away. I was scared and confused, I couldn’t believe that the girl would have said this so I thought the police had made a mistake and arrested the wrong person.

I was wearing my dressing gown, and they wouldn’t let me put clothes on. I didn’t want to go with them until I had dressed, which I told them. They joked at my expense asking “you won’t run will you?” while four of them surrounded me in my bedroom, uncuffing me so I could change. The police officers walked me to one of the two police cars they had thought was necessary to arrest me, two further police officers were in this car. We drove the thirty minute drive to the police station, watching out of the window feeling like I was in a dream, not believing that this was happening to me.

Once at the police station, I was put in a cell for the next three hours. It was around 1am when they let me out. Because I was 16, I had to have an appropriate adult with me. A police officer put me in a waiting room with my Nan, and after 15 minutes because it was during Covid I was told to speak to a duty solicitor on the phone. The solicitor told me that the girl had not made a complaint, but her Mum called the police. Because of this, he told me to say “no comment” to all questions asked. I was thinking that I wanted to tell the truth, considering I had nothing to hide and had done nothing wrong. Against my better judgement, I decided to trust his legal advice.

The interview only lasted 30 minutes, but it felt like forever as I was still trying to process what was going on. It felt like I was in a dream until I was out of the station when it hit me that it wasn’t.

When I got home, I had an unopened 1 litre bottle of rum from a new years party a few days before. I finished it neat within 20 minutes. It was all feeling very real now, and I was terrified, I wanted the feeling to go away, and so I drank as much and as quickly as possible. In the back of my mind, I knew what I wanted to do. It felt like there was no other escape other than to end it all. I thought that the drink would make what I planned to do easier. I went into the kitchen pretending to family that I was getting a drink. I started drinking bleach, and taking tablets, whatever I could find. My twin brother came to check on me, and called my Nan to the kitchen. She called an ambulance. I don’t remember much, but woke up in hospital. It hadn’t worked.

For weeks after this, I was checking out of the windows expecting police to turn up and arrest me again. This was the first thing I thought of every day, and the last thing I thought of at night. Every minute of every day, my mind was consumed with fear. The constant questions, why has she done this? What are people thinking about me? Has this ruined my good reputation? I didn’t realise then, but this would go on for four and a half years.

Over the next few weeks, I found out that the girl had made her statement. Since my arrest, it seemed like everything was bad. Until then, I had just been a normal boy. I was popular, had achieved good GCSE results, studying at A level, had so many friends, and played Rugby for our town. Now, I didn’t want to go anywhere and I was miserable. I felt lost. Just when I thought things were completely hopeless, four girls reached out to my Mum. They were the girl’s best friends. They said that they had strong evidence to show that the girl was lying. It turned out, she had bragged about the night we had spent together. She had asked them to lie for her. Whilst I buried my head in the sand, my Mum met with all of the girls, and each of them agreed that if it went to court they would stand up for me and tell the truth.

I struggled going back to sixth form, and missed 8 months over the two year period. Despite this, I did achieve my A levels and had chosen a University a few hours away from home. I decided to study Criminology and Law as I wanted to work in Criminal defence to try and stand up for people like me. I started off strong at Uni, achieving my grades and tried to build my new life whilst always having this at the back of my mind.

Halfway through year one, when I was 18, the CPS made the decision to charge. Every solicitor I had spoken to did not see this decision coming. Because of this, I came home for a few weeks for support from my family, friends and girlfriend. During this time, as a way to further hurt me, the girl’s Mum contacted a local reporter who wrote a news article about me. It was written “18 year man arrested for SA on 15 year old girl”. We were actually the same age, and she was now 18 too. I tried to keep quiet, but now it was on social media.

I tried to stay at Uni, but ended up turning to alcohol. I drank every day, and was now an 18 year old alcoholic. I stopped going to classes, and stayed in my room playing Xbox and drinking. I would sleep all day, and stay awake all night. I knew I was wasting my opportunity at university, and was disappointed in myself but I used to think, why waste my time going to class when my life was ruined.

My family tried to get the news articles removed, but were only able to have them amended so that we were both referred to as young people. I tried to take my life several times after this, once putting myself in hospital for a week and causing permanent kidney damage. I constantly weighed up the pros and cons of my life. It was easier to focus on the cons when I was in the middle of all of it. Looking back at it now, I am thankful that none of these attempts worked.

At the start of my Uni second year, I dropped out because I was missing too many classes and moved back home.

I had a job during the summer working in exhibitions, and so decided to carry on doing this whilst awaiting trial. I didn’t know at this point that because of people being unavailable, the trial would be moved three times and I would be waiting another 2 and a half years. At this point, I was relieved every time it was delayed as I didn’t want to face trial so was happy to have some more months without thinking about having to go trial.

I was 21 by the time my trial started.

My trial was February this year, there was one charge and it was listed for 4 days.

The month before trial, I was counting down the days. I had to buy a suit and prepare myself. I kept thinking it would get delayed again, and I hoped it would.

Throughout the next few weeks, my Mum was making sure everyone could get to the court and that the barrister had everything she needed. Although I didn’t want to think about any of it, someone had to.

The night before trial, I couldn’t sleep. I was led in bed with my girlfriend, and even though she was sleeping it made me feel less alone. I hadn’t eaten or had more than a sip of water in days.

The morning of the trial, I did everything I could to fill my time and not leave until the last second. During the drive to court, I was silent and in my own head.

Once we arrived, we went and sat in a private room with the barrister. She explained how the days would be set out, and what to expect. The first day would be the prosecution, the second and third would be our defence as I had so many witnesses, followed by summing up and the Jury’s verdict.

The prosecution’s part was the worst, things were said about me that were completely untrue. I had to sit in a glass box that made me feel like a criminal. The court officer who sat with me was kind and supportive, he kept saying nice comments and getting me glasses of water. I had a notepad and pen so that I could take notes, but also take a break from looking out onto the court. That day dragged on, and it felt hopeless as the jury was left overnight having only heard untrue and negative things about me. I was glad that it was only one day as there was only one prosecution witnesses who was a friend of hers. My false accuser couldn’t remember her story as it wasn’t true, and the lies were told so many years before. This resulted in her being caught out lying multiple times which my barrister was able to point out during cross examination.

That night, once again, I didn’t sleep. My alarm went off in the morning, and I lay there drained and sleep deprived dreading the day and thinking it was going to be the same as the first. However, today was the defence’s turn and after almost 5 years I would be able to tell everyone the truth for the first time.

I walked into the glass box again, feeling very nervous. To start with that day, between the prosecution and the Officer in Charge, they read out my statement to the jury. I didn’t think this seemed fair considering it wasn’t their truth to be told. Also, considering how biased the police were in their investigation. They were always seeking to achieve a conviction rather than justice. After my statement was read out, I had the chance to read it myself and be questioned by my barrister, and then cross examined by the prosecution.

I was called up to the stand, and this was the first time that the jury had seen me out of the glass box, and could hear my voice.

To start with, the nerves got the better of me and I could barely say my own name to the court. My barrister eased me into it by asking simple questions with simple answers, until she could tell I was confident in my ability to answer more in depth questions. After she had finished letting me get my side across, it was the prosecution’s turn to cross examine me. They started by asking me vague questions, which I had to ask for them to be more specific and I realised instantly they were doing this as a way to try and trip me up. They didn’t manage once to trip me up, or make me look bad. This was easy for me, because you can’t slip up when you’re telling the truth. Even though the whole thing was overwhelming, I was happy with myself for doing it as I could see the jury start to look at me differently. The rest of the day was the four friends of my false accuser.

The girls were called to the stand one by one to give their evidence. This lasted the entire afternoon, and even though they struggled with nerves they were all better than I could have hoped and I was so grateful that even after all these years none of them backed out and were all still willing to stand up for me.

That night, I managed to get a couple of hours sleep as that day felt more positive than the first. Day 3 was just my character witnesses who were my Dad, my football coach, and my girlfriend. Then both defence and prosecution summaries were read. After the summaries, I was told that I would have to go into the waiting room while the jury deliberated. I was told that although it might not take long, it might take the whole afternoon and maybe even multiple days. It was also the Jury’s lunchbreak which would add to the time. However, 20 minutes later I was called back in to the court as the jury had reached a verdict. They brought me back into the box, and everyone had to sit while the jury returned.

I was told to stand up while the verdict was read, with a court officer either side of me. Whilst I was stood up, my whole body was shaking with adrenaline and I thought I might pass out at any moment. The appointed member of the jury read “not guilty” and I collapsed back into my chair. Even though the court was told to not react to the verdict, as you can imagine my family and witnesses couldn’t help themselves, they cheered and rushed over to the box. The court officers discretely congratulated me before letting me out of the glass box. Words can’t explain how I felt, and all the emotions I had been bottling up came out in that moment. 5 years of torture were finally over, and I sill couldn’t grasp the fact that I would be able to go to sleep without this hanging over my head.

That night I celebrated with a load of my boys who had believed in me the whole way though. We stood around a fire drinking and celebrating as we watched my court suit go up in flames, as a last FU to the whole nightmare that I had been through.

I would like to end by saying that even though my life will never be perfect, and I lost out on 5 of my teenage years, I’m happy I’m still here. Everyone can now see the truth. As hard as it can be to fight through the trauma, I strongly believe that keeping your head up and believing in yourself, you can come out on top just like I have.

Some things that I think are important enough to share to help you get through it are….

• Don’t bury your head in the sand. Although it’s something you don’t want to think about, it is happening, and you have to fight for yourself.

  
  

• As I’ve previously said, the police want to convict you. Don’t speak to them without a solicitor present, do not trust them.

  
  

• Don’t hide away and isolate yourself, been seen in public as you’ve got nothing to hide away from.

  
  

• If you do end up going to court, speak up, let the jury hear your voice, and tell your version of events.

  
  

• Take care of your appearance, get a haircut, buy and suit, and be the best version of yourself.

  
  

• Most importantly, of course this will have a huge impact on your mental health. Keep friends and family close, and keep busy. Don’t push anyone away.

  
  

I didn’t reach out for support when I needed it, but I wish I had. This group (AccusedMe) was a lifeline for my Mum, and I’m so thankful to Craig for coming to my trial. You’re not alone and I wish for the best outcome for each and every one of you.

Thank you for listening.

2

 The year since then

What I didn’t know when I gave the above speech last year was how much my life was about to change. Reeds Solicitors were at last year’s conference, Nicola Hutchinson in particular, and afterwards she offered me a job. That opportunity has become a huge part of my life over the past year, and I can’t ever tell her how grateful I am.

I have spent the last year working as a pre-charge engagement representative. That means I am now supporting people at a stage that I understand very personally: the stage before charge. This is the time when everything feels uncertain, frightening and out of your control. I know what it is like to sit with unanswered questions. I know what it is like to be waiting, and waiting, for a decision that could change your life.

I have also been helping to start and build a pre-charge representation team. That matters to me because pre-charge work is not just about legal process; it is about helping people understand what is happening, what they need to do, and how to get through a period that can feel completely overwhelming. It is about early support, clear advice, and making sure people do not feel abandoned while they are waiting for a decision.

During this year, I have also trained as a police station representative, with my final exam coming up. After everything that happened to me in a police station at 16, this is something that I never would have imagined. I now go into that environment from the other side, not as the frightened person that I was in the cell, but as someone there to protect, advise and support the individuals going through it.

One of the things I have noticed in this work is that clients often find it easy to relate to me. They do not necessarily know why, and I obviously do not sit there telling everyone my whole life story, but I think they can tell that I understand something about what they are feeling. I know what it is like to be scared. I know what it is like not to know what is going to happen next. I know how much it matters to feel that someone is taking you seriously and that you are not alone.

Outside of work, my life has changed as well. I have started doing things again that, for a long time, I either could not do or did not feel able to enjoy. I will go to pubs with my friends now, although I still suffer with anxiety and I do struggle with new places, I still push myself to be part of society. That might sound small to some people, but for me it is not. Being able to go out, see people, be part of normal life again and not feel completely trapped by what happened is a big thing.

I play football and rugby again, which has been a huge part of feeling more like my old self. For a long time, I felt like I had lost parts of who I was. Getting back into sport has helped me reconnect with who I used to be. It gives me routine, confidence and a reason to get out of my own head for a while.

My relationship with alcohol is also very different now. Last year, I spoke about how badly I struggled with alcoholism during the case, and was drinking on a daily basis. Now, I only drink socially on the weekend. That might also not sound dramatic, but for me it is another sign that things have changed. It is not something I am relying on to get through the day or to block everything out anymore.

I don’t currently have a partner. I like to blame that on my anxiety, but if you asked any of my friends, or my twin brother, they would probably just say I have no game. And they would probably be right. But even that feels like part of normal life again. I can joke about things. I can talk about the future. I can imagine a life that is not completely defined by what happened to me.

That does not mean everything is suddenly easy, or that the past disappears. I still live with anxiety. I still have moments where certain places, situations or memories are difficult. But it does mean that something which nearly destroyed me has also given me a purpose. I would never say I am glad it happened, because I’m not. But because of it, I’ve been given an opportunity that I may not have had otherwise to help people like myself.

Life on the other side

This year’s conference is about mental health following a false accusation, and I think that is so important. When you are in the middle of it, it can feel like there is no future beyond the accusation. It can feel like your life has been paused, or ruined, or taken away from you completely. I’ve felt all of those things.

But I am standing here now as proof that there can be life on the other side. Whatever the outcome, and whatever the journey looks like, there is still a future. For me, that future has become something positive. I have gone from being someone who needed help, to someone who can now help others. I have gone from feeling powerless, to being able to stand beside people at one of the most difficult points in their lives.

If you are at the beginning of this process, or supporting someone who is, I know it may feel impossible to believe that things can get better. I would not have believed it either. But please hold on to the fact that the accusation is not the whole of your life, even when it feels like it is. You still have value. You still have a future.

I can’t promise anyone that the road will be easy. Mine was not. But I can say that I am glad I stayed alive to see what came next. I am glad I got to rebuild, and that I got to use my experience to make a difference for other people. If my story can show even one person that, after a false accusation, the darkness does not last forever, that there is still light at the end of the tunnel and there is still a future, then I feel like it’s worth sharing.

I would like to end by saying that I dedicate this speech to my best friend’s 16 year old brother, D, who sadly 2 weeks ago made the decision to take his life after being falsely accused. I wish he had spoken out and asked for the support he needed. I wish he knew that there was a future for him. We all love you D.