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Allegations
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Nick Wills is
no rapist. Everyone knows that -- now. Yet some of
the stigma remains from a harrowing tale of sex, lies and deceit the
22-year-old This week a
Police Complaints Authority report vindicated his claims that police should
not have charged him with rape last year. He has also
paid off $27,000 in legal bills with a combined compensation deal of $30,000
from the police and his former employer, the Bryant Hall Trust Board. Mr Wills took
the trust board to the "The most
important part of all this has been the very bad handling of the case by the
police. "I know
that my accuser was very convincing -- I'm not disputing that. But the fact
is that they (the police) didn't do their job properly. I wasn't going to let
them get away with it." In August last
year he was arrested for the alleged rape of a fellow student in the hostel. The woman was
later convicted of making a false statement to police. Mr Wills was cleared
of charges of rape and threatening to kill. But the three
months he spent under suspicion as a serial rapist can never be compensated
for. "It was pure hell. I was in `stunned mullet' mode for most of that
time." He says he had
to endure constant suspicion from people: "Everyone would look sideways
at me, it was so obvious." Then there were the relentless rumours that
he was a serial rapist with a swag of attacks under
his belt. "I soon
realised who my real friends were. My true friends stuck by me, but some
doubted me. It was a strange and emotional time." One concern
was how his relationship with female friends would be affected. But they were
the ones who remained staunchly by his side. Mr Wills says
he knew his accuser "only vaguely". They lived on the same floor of
the hostel and shared some courses. He stands by
his claim police failed to investigate his alibi and he hopes police learn
from the experience. "Let this
be a reminder to the police. I hope some good comes out of it." In his
decision, Police Complaints Authority deputy chief Ewen
Robertson said there was a "neglect of duty" in the police inquiry.
Police
Assistant Commissioner Bruce Scott today said police were often criticised
for questioning (rape case) complainants unnecessarily and not believing
them. "Here we have a case where a detective actually went the other way
and readily accepted what turned out to be a pack of lies." The detective
handling the investigation, Chris Scahill, was
unable to be reached today by the Times. --------------------
CAPTION: VINDICATION: |
