'Rape claim has ruined my life'

2:07pm Wednesday 9th July 2008

A St Albans man falsely accused of rape has spoken exclusively to Review reporter Alexandra Barham about his traumatic ordeal and the devastating effects the spurious allegation has had on his life.

PANTELLIS JACKSON went on trial at St Albans' Crown Court after a woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, filed a charge of rape against him in December last year.

Mr Jackson, formerly of Gordon House in Gordon Close, always denied the allegations and last month was acquitted following a week-long hearing after a jury unanimously reached a not guilty verdict.

But having been vindicated, Mr Jackson insists an end to his nightmare is still a long way off.

With his reputation damaged and continued speculation over his innocence, the 35-year-old father-of-one says his life has been "destroyed".

"Although it was a not guilty verdict I have still got a whole lot of re-building of my life to do - it's going to be difficult with such an allegation," he said.

"It's taken my life away from me and taken everything I had.

"You can't look people in the face; you think people are talking about you.

"There's a horrible stigma with it - although you are found not guilty, it's like it doesn't go away."

Allegations Mr Jackson raped the woman when she was in a comatosed state in the early hours of Christmas morning last year, led to his arrest three days after the supposed crime.

He was remanded in custody and held in Woodhill prison before being released following an appeal on January 10.

Mr Jackson said: "I was shocked when they arrested me.

"I was scared and frightened. I was numb and shocked - so many things were going through my head.

"Even in prison it didn't kick in - nothing had kicked in.

"I wouldn't talk to anyone, I wouldn't come out of my cell - I was terrified of the unknown."

And since the unfounded allegations were made, Mr Jackson says life as he once knew it has been forcibly seized, having been driven out of his home and suspended from his full time job as a chef.

And not only did the accusations have devastating consequences but Mr Jackson says it also dramatically changed him.

Once an outgoing sociable bachelor, he now admits to being a paranoid recluse, living in solitude. He said he hides away to avoid the taunts and heckling from those who still doubt his innocence.

"I lived a normal life, I liked living life, but now I don't go out.

"I don't socialise, I only feel safe around my inner circle of family and friends. Without the closest people to support me through this, I don't know how I would have got through it."

Even having cleared his name, Mr Jackson recalls being subjected to jeering during a fleeting visit to his home in St Albans. As a result he believes he will never return to living in the city.

"I don't look at St Albans as my home anymore. I'm a person who needs a routine and needs to feel comfortable with everything in my home. Homes are meant to be your security and I just didn't feel secure there.

"I have to get away from the situation and from where the accusation was made and make a fresh start."

During the trial, the "victim" did not deny that sexual activity took place but professed she was drunk and did not have the capacity to consent to sex. The severity of the allegations meant Mr Jackson faced a substantial custodial sentence if proven.

Speaking about the trial Mr Jackson added: "I kept focused for the first four days. It was on the last day it started to kick in. When I stood up and gave my evidence in court that's when I first broke down from it."

The jury was asked to consider the evidence over the weekend and return a verdict on Monday, June 23.

The defendant says the weekend was the longest of his life.

"On Monday the jury was sent out to come to a verdict and that was very frightening," he explained.

"I faced five or six years in prison, possibly more. I wouldn't see my son until he was eight or nine-years-old - I would have missed the most important part of his life.

"There and then you suddenly realise what's important to you in life. You realise what matters.

"Life can be taken away from you just like that.

"I wasn't scared of being jailed but being convicted of something I knew I did not do.

"One thing I will do is tell my son to be wary of contacting any women who have had a drink. I would hate for him to go through anything that I have been through."

Mr Jackson is now living in Essex with his family and is keen to start piecing his life back together. He has been asked to return to work following the not guilty verdict.

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