A woman is crowdfunding her case against a stranger she claims raped her because prosecutors refused to press charges.
Emily Hunt, who waived her right to anonymity, says she was drugged and raped by a stranger in 2015. However, the Crown Prosecution Service said there wasn’t a case, in part because CCTV showed Ms Hunt being “flirty” and “kissing” the man.
WATCH: Emily Hunt explains the effects of GHB when mixed with alcohol as an explanation for the CCTV footage.
“I woke up naked and terrified on a hotel bed next to a man I’d never seen before. I suspected that I been drugged, and, as I found out two days later, I had been raped. I reported it immediately so the police had me, my rapist and the hotel room,” the 38-year-old told The Evening Standard.
“They found used condoms in the room. The Crown Prosecution Service told me they couldn’t prosecute.
“One reason was that there is CCTV footage of me being very flirty, kissing him. But I believe I was drugged. In the CCTV I’m literally falling over so it’s very clear that I’m heavily intoxicated,” the mother-of-one added.
“I don’t remember meeting him or any of that. It was impossible for me to have given consent. I was falling over.
She was so intoxicated in fact that police categorised her as too drunk to even give consent for a medical exam, let alone sex.
So far, Ms Hunt has raised over $26,000 of her $172,000 goal on her GoFundMe page.
On the page, Ms Hunt wrote: “The CPS have an abysmal record when it comes to rape, and they just can’t be bothered with my case.”
“But I still want justice. Luckily: I’ve found a really good lawyer . And this story is not over. Which is why I need your help.
“As I am in the UK, I can bring a private prosecution. That is, I can pay a (very expensive) barrister to bring charges against my rapist. I can pay someone to do the Crown Prosecution Service’s job for them. Given the evidence, this would likely result in jail time for him. But this is a very expensive endeavour and I can’t do it my own.”
The CPS said in a statement: “Having looked carefully at all the available evidence, a specialist prosecutor decided there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction in this case.
“At the request of the victim, the case was subject to a further review by the head of our rape and sexual offences team, who upheld the original decision.
“We met the victim to explain the decision further and answer any questions she had. While we are of course sympathetic to the complainant, this is not a prosecution we were able to bring to court.”
