Viewers of ‘I Am Not A Rapist’, a BBC documentary from 2020 that is newly available on Netflix, which details the horrific aftermath of false rape allegations, will be familiar with Liam Allan’s story.
Back in January 2016, the student had returned home from playing football and was gaming with a friend online, when the police knocked at his door.
Recalling the day that everything changed to Cosmopolitan UK during a 2019 interview, Liam said, “There was no EastEnders-style showdown, it was almost casual. I thought perhaps I’d witnessed a crime.”
The documentary opens with a recording of the police interrogation that followed, in which Liam repeatedly denies forcing his ex-partner to have sex with him or continuing on with intercourse while knowing she did not want to proceed – four months after what he believed to be a mutual break-up had taken place.
While most rapes reported to the police are legitimate – and only 3% even make it to trial, highlighting a glaring gap of justice for the majority of survivors – there are rare cases, such as Liam’s (and the two others explored in the documentary), where a report will be falsified.
Finding an exact number for fake claims is difficult, but is believed to sit somewhere between 1 and 3%. Of the small number of genuine cases that do make it to court, conviction rates sit at 53.4% in adult cases, leaving thousands of victims without any form of justice.
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The consequences of one of those rare, false allegations can be devastating: I Am Not a Rapist also shares the story of Jay Cheshire, a teenager who sadly took his own life as the result of a complaint made against him which was later dropped.
This is the true story of Liam Allan’s false rape case and what happened after the charges were dropped.
What happened to Liam Allan?
On 31 of January 2016, Liam Allan's ex-partner reported him to the police. She lied and claimed that he had raped her multiple times throughout their relationship.
It took one afternoon to ruin his life and two years to clear his name.
When speaking in detail to Cosmopolitan UK about his story in 2019, Liam shared the immense mental health damage he suffered as a result, “[I was thinking, if I was convicted and jailed that] by the time I’d left prison, I would probably have considered suicide. I love my mum, but what would there be to live for? Nobody would want a family with me, I wouldn’t be able to take my own child to primary school.”
After waiting two years for the case to go to court, he was in a highly anxious state and believed his life was over as he prepared to try and defend himself against 13 counts of rape.
“I started gearing up to convince 12 untrained strangers of my innocence. Ultimately, it comes down to your word against the complainant’s. I lost hope, thinking, ‘If I was in the jury, who would I feel more sorry for?’ It’s never going to be the guy defending himself for rape,” he said. “Rape is the very worst thing to be accused of. If you ask someone if they’re [more] likely to hire a convicted burglar or a rapist, they’ll choose the burglar every time.”
But, in the eleventh hour, “everything just flipped on its head” after a staggering amount of new evidence came to light via Liam’s ex-girlfriend’s phone. His lawyer, Julia Smart, was given a disc containing 2,418 pages worth of messages – one of which clearly stated that Liam had never forced the complainant into having sex.
“The case puts you in a cage without being in prison,” Liam reflects in the film, four years on from the date the allegation was made. “It’s like something that buries you.”
He also explains his fears that there will come a time when people won’t remember the specifics of the case and that the allegation was false.
“Everyone says they’re innocent, everyone says their son is innocent,” says Lorraine, Liam’s mother, who also takes part in the film. “I always want to believe the victim, knowing the experiences many women have gone through, but I’ve got a close enough relationship to know my son [was innocent].”
What happened to Liam Allan after his case?
Following his ordeal and clearing his name, Liam went on to co-found The Defendant, an organisation offering support and guidance for those who are wrongly suspected of a crime, with Hannah Arkwright, a woman falsely accused of domestic abuse by an ex-partner (a tactic known as DARVO, which experts in the women's safety space fear is on the rise).
The Defendant’s website describes Liam as “an advocate for the falsely accused, with a particular focus on ensuring that there is sufficient support for defendants whilst they are going through the Criminal Justice System”.
He became a father in 2020.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
