The father of a mentally ill woman who killed herself days before going on trial for making a false rape claim has questioned the decision not to take legal action against Lord Janner because of his dementia.
David de Freitas hit out at the Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) decision not to press sex charges against the former Labour peer due to his ill health, when his own daughter was prosecuted for a single offence and was a suicide risk.
Mr de Freitas's daughter Eleanor killed herself on April 4 last year, three days before she was due to stand trial accused of perverting the course of justice.
The 23-year-old trainee accountant had a history of mental health problems and was suffering with bipolar disorder. She said she felt there was "no way out" as the CPS told her she would stand trial.
Her inquest, held in south London last month, heard the case had been a significant "stressor" in her life at the time she killed herself.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said the CPS had been "correct" in pursuing a criminal case against Ms de Freitas, but her father said the standards applied when considering Lord Janner's mental health should have applied to his straight-A student daughter.
Mr de Freitas said: "The CPS do have a duty to monitor the state of health of the person they are considering prosecuting - the DPP is right there.
"How is it then that the CPS made no attempt at such monitoring of Eleanor?
"As far as I am aware, there is no marked risk of suicide for those who suffer from dementia. Why is dementia worthy of consideration and not bipolar?"
Former Leicester West MP Lord Janner, 86, was investigated under three different police inquiries between 1991 and 2007.
He is accused of using his position as MP for Leicester to abuse vulnerable boys at a local children's home in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Earlier this week, current DPP Alison Saunders, who is head of the CPS, said there was enough evidence to bring charges against the former Labour peer, but that his dementia meant he was too sick to stand trial. His family say he is unconnected to any wrongdoing.
Mr de Freitas said: "I think it is fair to say that charges of sex offences are greater than one charge of perverting the course of justice.
"In a matter of a prosecution for something more severe than perverting the course, it is clearly wrong that the interests of a member of 'the establishment' should have precedence over the interests of a vulnerable 23-year-old young woman.
"Prosecuting those who make allegations of rape with the offence of perverting the course of justice will only make women less inclined to report allegations of rape, a crime which is already less reported than it should be. Where is the public interest in that?"
Lord Janner's alleged victims are considering legal action following the decision not to prosecute.
Former DPP, Lord Macdonald, has said it was "serious failing" that he was not informed about an investigation involving the peer in 2007.
He claimed that as the case involved a "prominent person", it should have been handled from London rather than a local CPS unit.
Lord Macdonald said: "It was apparently a serious police investigation, and it should have been absolutely clear to the lawyers in Leicestershire that this case should have been sent to London.
"I would have undoubtedly taken a look at it personally."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article