I think people are concerned on a number of levels. If a girl was raped and retracted her statement, why are the police saying, “no sexual assault was committed”? Retracting a statement and charges is one thing. Having HM police force stating categorically to students and residents of York that this did not happen is quite another and would to me, suggest that this story is not quite as it seemed at first.

The second point is that if, God forbid, this did happen and the victim has decided not to press charges, then there is still a ‘rapist’ on the loose in York. This is the key point, as far as I see things. There is a duty of the police to protect people and in a sense we deserve to know in the clearest possible terms if extra precautions need to be taken (girls walk in large groups/with boys) to ensure the safety of girls around the York area.

I happen to think we should take the word of the police. They HAVE categorically stated “that the sexual assault did not take place and the investigation has now been closed”. For me, this suggests beyond all doubt that something has gone on that we don’t know about. So, instead of scare-mongering saying “she was pressured into retracting” and “The statement is black and white, but is it the whole truth?”, we should take the police for their word that the assault did not take place.

Of course, rape is a heinous crime and there are obviously times when a victim is afraid of losing face, embarrassment etc as a result of reporting and following through with the case. In this instance however, I think there is firm evidence to suggest that this is not the case.

Sorry if my comment was confusing. I just meant this as a broad statement highlighting that the area between uni and halifax wasn’t necessarily completely safe.