Text messages free framed rapist from jail

  • 03/02/2018
The texts the accuser sent to her friend.
The texts the accuser sent to her friend. Photo credit: Getty

A 19-year-old who spent three months in jail after being accused of rape has been freed, after a text message emerged from his accuser claiming she wanted to "ruin his life".

The message had not been disclosed by police during Connor Fitzgerald's trial in south London last year.

The woman had texted her friend, prior to laying charges against Mr Fitzgerald, saying: "I'm not just going to mess his life up, I'm going to ruin it lol."

Text messages free framed rapist from jail

The woman later claimed he had raped her, providing a video she had secretly taken during the alleged incident.

In November police arrested the teenager in front of his family, jailing him until last month when his brother found a text message she sent to Mr Fitzgerald, saying: "If I can't have you, no one can."

A string of texts both to Mr Fitzgerald and the accuser's friends have since emerged.

On January 22, his name was officially cleared after his family took the case back to court.

Mr Fitzgerald told The Sun it was when he got a new girlfriend that things turned sour.

"She started messaging me all crazy stuff - 'What about our family?'

"And then it turned to, 'I'm going to get you nicked for this'."

He says it's ruined his life, and plans to sue police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for going ahead with a "flimsy" prosecution.

"I'm scared to even leave the house because everyone thinks I'm a rapist."

The CPS told The Sun the case was "in accordance with the Threshold Test, which is applied in serious cases where further evidence is expected to become available within a reasonable period".

"Prosecutors are required to take account of any change in circumstances as a case develops."

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