Protect the accuser, and the accused

Michael Le Vell has been to hell and back.

The Coronation Street star’s life was put on hold after he was accused of heinous sex offences against a young girl, and he has had to suffer months of people speculating over whether or not he was a paedophile.

This week a jury took just four hours to find him completely innocent of all charges, but the scars will take a very long time to heal.

He hasn’t appeared as Kevin Webster on the Street since the beginning of the year, and I am sure there have been times when he dreaded being sent to jail for a crime he didn’t commit.

Michael has also admitted that he felt suicidal and he has had to put up with people whispering behind his back and endless speculation about this distressing case.

There have been no winners in this whole sorry saga. He has seen his reputation torn to shreds.

Even his defence barrister called him a weak and stupid man and he was revealed as a drunk who cheated on his wife.

Following his not guilty on all counts verdict, there have been questions raised about whether or not this case should ever have been brought to court in the first place.

It was initially dropped back in September 2011 due to lack of evidence, and Michael thought he’d be able to get on with his life, but then he was dramatically re-arrested and charged in February this year when his accuser came forward with more “evidence”, and he found himself in the middle of a nightmare.

He always staunchly declared his innocence and has said all along that there was no case to answer.

That didn’t stop front page stories and media speculation over the claims made by the young woman we now know was telling lies.

I cannot begin to imagine what was going on in her mind and it is safe to assume that she will need some sort of professional help.

Any false claim of sexual assault, and we have to remember they are extremely rare indeed, completely destroys the life of the person accused and standing in the dock.

Even when acquitted,there will always be those who wrongly mutter about there being no smoke without fire.

It was made all the more worse for Michael because he has such a high profile.

As an actor on Coronation Street he has been beamed into our living rooms for more than 30 years.

One Tory MP suggested the case was pursued simply because Michael is a celebrity, and he is not the only one to allude to a “witch hunt” in these post Jimmy Savile days.

Savile’s lengthy list of disgusting offences against innocent children and young people does appear to have put almost every man in the public eye under suspicion, so perhaps there is some truth in the claim that celebrities who find themselves accused of sexual crimes will be treated differently.

There have also been calls for those accused of rape to remain anonymous until after the verdict, or for the person making the claims to be named.

While there might be a persuasive argument for not revealing the accused’s identity I don’t think we should go down the road of revealing the name of the accuser.

It is difficult enough for rape and sexual assault victims to find the courage to press charges in the first place.

If their names were to be released, I believe you would see very few of them willing to put themselves through such an ordeal without anonymity.

It has to be up to the police, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal to do their jobs properly and make sure there is enough evidence to warrant an arrest and to be able to weed out fantasists or those pursuing some sort of warped revenge.

Again it must be stressed that those kinds of cases are exceedingly unusual.

Even although I know Michael Le Vell would never agree, and despite his horrendous ordeal, I don’t think the law should be altered to name the accusers.

It is by no means perfect but it is the best we have.