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Writing a piece about being the victim of sexual assault?

Hi.
I was thinking of writing a piece about a sexual assault I went through 3 and a half years ago. I feel I have a lot to say about my experience and wish to show people (not only the person directly affected) that life moves on and they can too.
Basically, The person who assaulted me was a male flat-mate of mine. One night he went mental beat me up and assaulted me. I went to my boyfriend's house and the next day I contacted the police.
Charges were dropped due to lack of evidence and he was free to move on with his life...
I couldn't... I was sleeping in a car... Utterly broken
anyway...
Since then there have been three further incidents with three girls...
He has been charged with 'GBH with intent' on the last girl (the police officer said 'he nearly killed her' and 'it was sexually motivated') and is going to crown court next year where the two other incidents and mine will be told to the Judge as 'bad character witnesses'.
-If I write about him can I use his name or will I be sued?
-How do I get hold of court records and case records?
-If I wait until after the court case and he is found guilty of the GBH with intent can I then write about all the alleged crimes?
-I need to know what I can and can't publish about people accused of crimes before or after they have been sentenced? (He has never been charged with the offence against me).

Thank you for taking the time to read.

Reply 1

WillBoy136

If you merely write his name you can't be sued but if you right his name and either say or imply that he is guilty before the case is completed you could be sued for defamation. You might find getting the court record a challenge as you probably won't know the citation. Before someone is convicted of a crime you cannot refer to them as a criminal, you can however say something "Mr X, who allegedly sexually assaulted three women..."

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Reply 2

dennisraymondsmith

Sorry to hear about your assault lovey . Do what you gotta do

Reply 3

a_r_w

If I'm writing it in first person tense can I write about what he did to me or is that defamation?
Can I write what he has been arrested for, even if he wasn't charged?

Reply 4

Georg Hegel

Original post by a_r_w

If I'm writing it in first person tense can I write about what he did to me or is that defamation?
Can I write what he has been arrested for, even if he wasn't charged?

I think the question is, what do you want to get out of it? If you use his name it suggests you want to hurt him. Or do you want to encourage people to come forward to tell their stories and to tell them that there is hope and a way forward?

Why do you have to use his name? Just use initials?

I've had a similar experience, not with sexual assault but sexual harassment and bullying for a year. I mixed my experience into a Lolita/Perk's of Being a Wallflower type novel. (In case you are interested in reading what I started a few days ago it is http://deargiles-blackabyss.blogspot.co.uk/ The writing itself is helpful though as it helps you process your thoughts. Have you thought about writing the individual (who is a **** by the way) a letter, but not post it?)

Reply 5

WillBoy136

Original post by a_r_w

If I'm writing it in first person tense can I write about what he did to me or is that defamation?
Can I write what he has been arrested for, even if he wasn't charged?

You could write about it if you didn't name him but by implying in anyway that he did something he hasn't been found guilty of you would run the risk of being sued. You could write about things he was never charged for but you'd have to be careful and make sure you were clear that he was never charged