Twin sisters say man they accused of rape launched legal proceedings to silence them
‘The Me Too movement encourages lots of people to come forward - we then risk further abuse through the courts by abusers pursuing civil litigation’ sister says
Two sisters have said that they were silenced from talking about their alleged sexual assault after the man accused in the incident launched legal proceedings against them.
Twins Lucy and Verity Nevitt, both of south London, decided to publicly name the man they accused of the assault after their case was dropped by police following an investigation.
While charges were not brought against the man, the 23-year-olds allege their attacker sexually assaulted Verity who then left the house to go to her boyfriend’s home. The accused is alleged to have later repeatedly raped Lucy.
Verity, one of the identical twin sisters, told The Independent she tried to take her own life after the alleged incident - adding that both she and her sister have been diagnosed with PTSD.
She said: “I attempted suicide over it. Mostly from the guilt at leaving. That weighed heavily. It was rough. It has had a huge emotional impact.
“The police investigation ended with no further action. Most rape cases end in no further action. It is frustrating when you are told by the police you have a strong case. It was the police who encouraged us to speak out”.
“They said they didn’t have enough evidence to prosecute”, she added.
However Verity said after they posted about their alleged rape online, their attacker accused them of misuse of private information, harassment and defamation.
In the end, the twins and the accused settled out of court with a legal agreement that stipulated he could not be named - but that they were allowed to speak out, Verity added.
She noted the whole experience was “incredibly stressful and re-traumatising” - adding that it was very difficult to focus on anything else.
“My sister would go and file paperwork on her lunch break. It did not allow us to move on as it was constantly being brought up”, she said.
Verity warned it is becoming increasingly frequent for victims to be silenced after attacks. She said: “We hadn’t heard of it happening until it happened to us. There are quite a few cases. It is hard to gauge how big a problem it is because people are blocked from speaking out.
“This happens to lots of people all the time. The Me Too movement encourages lots of people to come forward. We then risk further abuse through the courts by abusers pursuing civil litigation. It is mostly wealthy abusers that do it.
“This isn’t an isolated case. There are so many other survivors who don’t have a voice.”
A 2020 study of nearly 500 survivors of rape undertaken by the Victim’s Commissioner found just 14 per cent expected to get justice by approaching the police
In 2019 the UK saw 1,600 prosecutions and 700 convictions related to rape cases , despite 55,000 incidents being reported.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Victims of rape deserve to know that their cases will be taken seriously and everything will be done to bring offenders to justice.
“Through our new Victim’s Code we are ensuring victims get the support they need with a clearer set of rights at every stage of the justice system.
“Alongside this requirement to investigate all allegations thoroughly, our defamation laws contain essential checks and balances to ensure that cases are only pursued when it is appropriate to do so.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “On 12 April 2018, officers received allegations of rape and sexual assault relating to an incident” in New Cross.
“A woman in her early 20s reported she had been subjected to a sexual assault and also reported that another woman, also aged in her early 20s, had been raped. As a result specialist officers from the South East Command Unit launched an investigation and a man” was interviewed under caution, they added.
“The Crown Prosecution Service were consulted in July 2018 and early investigative advice given. The case was subjected to a ‘Full Case Review’ and a decision made that the case had failed to meet the evidential test. The complainants were informed of the decision in February 2019.”
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