IS THIS JUSTICE?
20 MONTHS’JAILFOR PRISON OFFICER OVER FAKE RAPE CLAIM AGAINST TAXI DRIVER IN DURHAM
A former prison offi- cer is now behind bars herself after making a false rape allegation against a taxi driver. According to the Northern Echo, Vic- toria Hoynes’ claim not only cast suspi- cion over two Asian taxi drivers, one being arrested, but also wasted many police man-hours while her allegation was
investigated
over a busy Bank Holiday weekend. It was only when dash-cam footage
Victoria Hoynes
was reviewed from the cab of one of the drivers, who had driven her
that
night, that it be- cameclear her story was unfounded and Hoynes was then spoken to, not as a potential victim, but as a suspect. Durham Crown Court, sitting in Newcastle,
said
police received a call at 3.49am, on May 26, last year, from Hoynes’ moth- er, who told them her
returned home from daughter
a night out in a dis- tressed state, saying she had been raped by an Asian taxi driver
outside
MET OFFICER CHARGEDWITH RACIALLY AGGRAVATED GBH AGAINST ESSEX TAXI DRIVER
A serving officer in the Metropolitan Police has been charged with racial- ly aggravated grie- vous bodily harm (GBH) after a taxi driver reported be- ing assaulted in Essex on May 28, 2018. PC Gareth Head has now been charged following the assault allegation which resulted in the taxi driver
receiving
medical treatment for a broken jaw. A member of the pub- lic, Paul Roden- Flame, also faces a charge of GBH. The Independent Office for Police Conduct
46
Lanchester Road Hospital, on the A691, near Durham. Hoynes said she took a taxi from the Market Place, Durham,
in and
claimed the driver, who was Asian and in his 40s, stopped near the hospital and carried out the attack on the front passenger
seat, (IOPC)
launched an investi- gation following a referral fromthe Met in October 2018. After the IOPC con- cluded its investi- gation, a report was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service in October 2019. The CPS decided in
February this year to charge PC Head and Mr Roden- Flame with racially aggravated GBH and an alternate charge of GBH. Both men will now appear at Basildon Magistrates Court on September 10.
before pushing her out, into the grounds of the hospital. She said she con- tacted a friend who picked her up, notic- ing Hoynes had twigs in her hair and scratches on the back of her clothing. Shaun Dodds, pros- ecuting, said in her initial interview she changed
her
description of the driver to being in his 20s, with spiked, gelled hair. Extensive inquiries took place and a driver on duty that night was arrested and denied the offence, stating he
had taken a fare to Crook at about that time. Mr Dodds said that man was discounted as a suspect, but the focus turned to a second driver, who, it emerged, had driven
Hoynes,
dropping her at the hospital on Lanch- ester Road. He said he drove straight home
afterwards
and footage from his dash-cam, inside the
cab, was
accessed, which showed Hoynes got out unaided and there was no con- tact between the pair. Mr Dodds said it was then Hoynes’ inves- tigation
changed and when interviewed
status she
maintained her orig- inal story, stating she would not risk her job at Frankland Prison, where she regularly works with sex offenders, and her “lifestyle” over this incident. Investigating offi- cers believed it was only when the dash- cam footage was shown to her that
she changed her account. Both
suspected
drivers spoke of the effect it had on their livelihood and family life, while the lead investigator
said
Hoynes’ actions may deter future rape victims from report- ing crimes. Hoynes,
Durham Gardens, Witton
admitted doing an act
tending and
intended to pervert the course of justice. Adam Birkby, for Hoynes, said she now accepts full responsibility and wants to make “sin- cere apologies” to both
implicated
drivers and to the police for wasting officers' time. Mr Birkby pointed to a psychiatric report which stated that her false allegations may have been an "unconscious man- agement" of
a
depressive illness from which she suf- fered
since a
relationship break- up,
in 2018. “Ul-
timately, it’s been a tragedy for all con- cerned, particularly the
two men,”
added Mr Birkby. Jailing her for 20- months,
Judge
James Adkin said much effort went in to proving her “wicked complaint” was, “ a complete fabrication”, impact- ing heavily on both men suspected and on policing re- sources.
JULY 2020
27, of Gilbert,
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