Students falsely accused of rape said they could claim £221,000 towards court costs

The four students who were falsely accused of gang-raping a woman at a college summer ball have been told they can claim £221,000 in costs.

Judge Jamie Tabor QC gave Thady Duff, Leo Mahon and Patrick Foster, all 22, and James Martin, 20, the go-ahead for the prosecution to cover some of their legal costs.

He also criticized Detective Constable Ben Lewis for getting too close to the woman who made the claims and accused police of cherry-picking evidence to support their case.

The case against the students, who study at the elite Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, was dropped last month.

They had all denied rape, sexual assault and assault but were left with hundreds of thousands of pounds in court costs.

The case against her collapsed after it emerged that the plaintiff, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had provided “different information” when she was a witness in another rape case.

According to Judge Tabor, DC Lewis committed “serious lapses” and failed to disclose “ground-breaking” evidence.

Inconsistencies in the woman’s statements in the case of an alleged rapist – a soldier – were not disclosed by the police.

The soldier in that case was later acquitted of rape charges.

Costs: Judge Tabor gave the students the green light to apply for £221,000 (SWNS).

Police were also aware of text messages sent by the complainant in the hours after the alleged incident, as well as a conversation with her friend about what would happen if video footage became public knowledge.

However, this evidence was only discovered when the defense asked experts to conduct a full examination of the plaintiff’s cell phone.

Judge Tabor criticized DC Lewis, saying: “As he was aware not only of his duties but also of the complainant’s character, Det Con Lewis should have examined the download from the phone in far more detail than he did.”

DC Lewis told the Crown Prosecution Service that a search of the phone just three days before the trial began revealed “nothing relevant”.

Judge Tabor added: “This was a truly appalling state of affairs.

“Had the applicants not conducted a thorough examination of the phone, the jury would have been presented with a severely distorted picture.”

He criticized the investigator for getting too close to the plaintiff, saying: “The lack of training for the role of the disclosure officer and the too close identification with the plaintiff almost led to the plaintiffs starting their case with one on their backs with my hand tied.”

“His failures in relation to the disclosure of the telephone evidence were serious and very serious. His failure to adequately record meetings and conversations with the complainant was also a serious failure.

Dropped: The four students were acquitted of gang rape charges (SWNS)

“If ever there was a case where the role of the disclosure officer was separate from that of the clerk, this was it.”

DC Lewis is still on active duty and has not been disciplined, but is now facing an investigation by Gloucestershire Police’s professional standards department.

A police spokesman said the police accepted the judge’s findings and took them “very seriously”.

He added: “Although the judge found failings in relation to the disclosure process, it is of course correct to find that DC Lewis did not act in bad faith in any way.”

“Furthermore, the officer was available and willing to give evidence at the costs hearing, but was never given the opportunity to respond to the allegations made against him.”

He confirmed that the judge’s findings will now be referred to the professional standards department, which will “consider whether or not behavioral problems have been identified”.

Top image: SWNS