Minister’s ‘caution for rape’ plan sparks anger

Guardian News and Media/London

Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, has been dragged into a row over a musician who killed herself after being subjected to tough cross-examination in a sex abuse case.

He had suggested that some rapists could be given cautions if their victims were unwilling to give evidence in court.

The minister made the suggestion in the House of Commons just days before it emerged that a professional violinist and mother-of-four, Frances Andrade, who last month gave evidence against her music teacher Michael Brewer, had killed herself at her home in Surrey six days after testifying.

The Crown Prosecution Service defended itself over the handling the case. Although Brewer was found guilty on Friday of five counts of indecent assault against his former pupil, Andrade had told a friend the cross-examination was like being “raped all over again”.

Grayling’s comments, which he stood by, will fuel the debate sparked by Andrade’s death over rape and abuse victims giving evidence in court.

Last Tuesday, Grayling told the Commons that giving a caution for rapists where victims refused to give evidence was one way to ensure they received a criminal record.

In response to the Labour MP Karl Turner, who asked why the number of cautions for rape was increasing, the minister said: “We would all view a caution for rape as completely unacceptable, but in some cases where the victim is absolutely unwilling to give evidence, it may be the only way to get something on the record about an offender. We must be careful about this issue and try to get it right.”

Campaigning for the Eastleigh by-election, Grayling told The Independent on Sunday he was “shocked” by the “horrible, disgusting case”, but added: “What I said in the House was that I was concerned about the use of cautions for serious offences.

Andrade, 48, was a pupil at the prestigious Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester when she was sexually abused by Brewer. Brewer’s ex-wife Kay, 68, was also found guilty of indecently assaulting Andrade when she was 18.

The CPS said a dedicated witness care officer was assigned to explain the trial process to Andrade and that she had restated her willingness to give evidence on several occasions in full view of the court and defendant.

Brewer’s QC, Kate Blackwell, accused Andrade of being a “liar” and a “fantasist”. In a statement issued after the verdicts, Andrade’s son, Oliver, said: “Being repeatedly called a ‘liar’ and a ‘fantasist’ about a horrific part of her life in front of a court challenged her personal integrity and was more than even she could bear.”