Ross Bullock/FacebookA man accused of rape took his own life, despite denying the accusations made against him.
Ross Bullock, was 38-years-old, when he killed himself after his accuser, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made allegations of rape against him.
Bullock denied the accusations and had kept text messages between the two as evidence of consensual sexual intercourse.
The two meet in February 2015 and had sex at his place of work – they’d also exchanged a series of flirtatious messages to one another.
Ross Bullock/FacebookHowever, a month after meeting up, Bullock was arrested and questioned by police on suspicion of rape after the woman made an accusation to the authorities.
He was released on bail for a month, despite showing officers the aforementioned text messages which he felt claimed his innocence.
Ross’ message read: ‘Well I hope u had a good time’ and the woman replied saying: ‘It was alright I suppose!! X.’.
Despite being let go, the police warned him he could be charged at a later date and following a ‘year of torment’, he left a note saying he had ‘hit rock bottom’ and wanted to be ‘free from this living hell’.
He hung himself on March 2016.
His 74-year-old mum Carole, who found his body, told the Daily Mail:
The allegation changed Ross as a person. He cut himself off.
His 76-year-old father Ronald added:
Ross would still be alive now if the police had dealt with the allegation sensitively.
A report from the corners office deemed his death was marked down as a result of ‘distress’ caused by the accusation.
His parents are now considering filing a civil action lawsuit against West Mercia Police. They are also demanding the accuser – who was allegedly in another relationship when she and Bullock – a forklift truck driver from Redditch, Worcestershire – had sex, to be charged. According to the Daily Mail she is currently under investigation for perverting the course of justice.
In a statement from West Mercia Police, given to the Daily Mail they said:
Mr Bullock was arrested and released with no further action. We would like to offer his family our sincere condolences following his tragic death.
PixnioA spokesperson for the Independent Office for Police Complaints (IOPC) confirmed a complaint has been filed and brought to the attention of West Mercia Police, who came to the conclusion there was no case to answer.
In December 2017 a student was cleared of rape thanks to evidence uncovered in his Facebook messages, however, he still had to spend over three years in prison before he could prove his innocence.
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in this article you can call the Samartians on their 24 hour hotline 116123 or 020 7734 2800.
