To The Doubters A Few Weeks Back

[TWR]

Our Cliff, all charges dropped, would you be happy with this result, I would not, I would want the accusers named.

[ummmm]

Name the accusers and people will stop coming forward.

[Old_Geezer]

Do you have any letters ?

[douglas9401]

That's some crossword clue. Is the answer Bachelor Boy?

[Baldric]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/cliff-richard-my-hell-finally-8925904

Fgs TWR, learn how to do a link will ya?
I'll have to clear my browser record now, I don't want anyone knowing I accessed the 'Mirror' site.
;o)

[AB Editor]

I've moved this to chatterbank

[naomi24]

//Name the accusers and people will stop coming forward.//

There's also a likelihood that spiteful people will hesitate before making false allegations. Name them!

[TWR]

Keeps you happy Balders.

[ummmm]

No...don't name them.

Just because there's not enough evidence to prosecute doesn't mean it didn't happen. Sexual abuse is a very hard thing to prove.

(I'm not saying I think Cliff is guilty)

[naomi24]

^ You're not saying he isn't either. The mud has stuck.

[andy-hughes]

It is very easy to assume that if a case does not proceed, it is because the accused is innocent.

The truth is often more complex than that.

The CPS has a responsibility to ensure that prosecutions carry a 'reasonable expectation of success' in order not to be to seen to be wasting public money.

That means that any case that does not proceed to court may well have compelling evidence, but that may not be sufficient to offer sufficient chances of a successful prosecution.

What that boils down to one simple premise - knowing something is one thing, being able to prove it is another.

I am not suggesting that Sir Cliff is guilty of any wrongdoing - but it is better to think about the bigger picture than to jump to the conclusion that the charges were baseless and malicious simply because Sir Cliff is a popular entertainer.

As we know, being a popular entertainer does not in and of itself guarantee a private life that is free from inappropriate behaviour.

[naomi24]

^There you go. Mud.

[ummmm]

I was a victim. The police came to me, not the other way round. If I thought for one second I would be named I would not have cooperated.

My abuser was not prosecuted. They knew he was guilty but they couldn't prove it.

[naomi24]

Ummmm, that was your choice. I fail to understand why it's acceptable to accuse someone of a crime without putting your money where your mouth is. His reputation has been tarnished forever. Who's the victim here?

[ummmm]

I don't know who is the victim because I don't know if he's guilty.

And Naomi...I was 10, it wasn't my choice!!

[1ozzy]

//Who's the victim here?//

Probably those that were abused, but the evidence is insubstantial for a trial that would bring a guilty verdict.

Lucky Sir Cliff.

[jackthehat]

I think that the initial stages of the investigation were badly handled. But that is not the fault of the victims/accusers and thus identifying them would be cruel and counter-productive.

Mud may well stick but, usually, only in the minds of those who like to think the worst of people....

[ummmm]

You're right, Jack, the only time I think about Cliff is when someone starts a thread on here.

[andy-hughes]

jack - //Mud may well stick but, usually, only in the minds of those who like to think the worst of people.... //

Absolutely.

My point concerned the processes of the CPS - and I was careful to state that I do not believe that Sir Cliff is guilty of the charges - so the somewhat cryptic post of 'Mud' is inaccurate and irrelevant.

My point was twofold - lack of prosecution does not automatically confer innocence of the charges, and popularity does not confer proper behaviour.

[andy-hughes]

10zzy - //Probably those that were abused ... //

Probably?

Seriously?

I don't think 'probably' is a term that applies to abused people!

[naomi24]

//Mud may well stick but, usually, only in the minds of those who like to think the worst of people.... //

In whose minds mud sticks is irrelevant. It sticks. Doubtless there are people who have no objection to that, but were they in his shoes they just might. I know I would.