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Tennis star’s rape charge ordeal leaves family with £10,000 debts
Rebecca Low9 Feb 2009
The family of a young British tennis star falsely accused of rape in America is facing debts of thousands of pounds after a legal battle to clear his name.
Richard Doerr flew to be by his son's side in Mississippi after hearing he was facing a life sentence for having sex with a girl at a party.
Chris, 21, had fallen foul of a state law that says a girl only has to claim a man got her drunk before they had sex to bring a rape charge.
Despite no evidence of wrongdoing, it took nearly three months for Chris, who once reached number 11 in the English rankings, to be cleared by the Mississippi authorities. A grand jury confirmed it was dropping the case last week.
Minicab driver Mr Doerr, 54, says he ran up more than £10,000 in debts from airline tickets, lawyer's fees and bail costs.
Mr Doerr, who lives with his wife, Doreen, 52, and four children in Petts Wood, Orpington, is now working 60-hour weeks to pay back the money.
He said it could take years for him and Doreen, who works as a sales assistant and gym receptionist, to repay friends and family.
Last November Chris rang his father from Mississippi State University, where he was studying journalism under a sports scholarship, to tell him he had been asked in for questioning over a rape allegation.
“I was completely shocked when I heard,” said Mr Doerr. “He said it would all blow over because it was a big misunderstanding, but I knew that if you are in the Deep South and accused of rape they won't suddenly say, Oops, sorry, I made a mistake'.
“He told me he'd been handcuffed and taken to a prison. They had strip-searched and DNA-tested him. The whole thing was horrible.”
The charges against Chris, signed by the girl and her father, were that he had “wilfully, unlawfully and knowingly made available beer” to the girl and had sex that was “not ... forcible [but] without her consent”. This was despite the fact everyone questioned from the party, on 22 November told police she had brought her own alcohol and chased after Chris.
Mr Doerr said: “It was a devastating time. Everyone was so upset about what had happened. It was definitely the worst Christmas ever. It was one of the lowest times of my life.”
Mr Doerr, a former newspaper production manager who became a minicab driver after being made redundant two years ago, convinced a leading civil rights lawyer to take on the case.
On 4 January Mr Doerr was “overwhelmed with relief” to hear from Chris that all charges had been dropped due to insufficient evidence. But the family could not relax completely until the grand jury officially confirmed that Chris would not be indicted.
“He was in tears, I was in tears,” said Mr Doerr. “It was one of the most fabulous moments of my life. But I just hope Chris can recover from this and move on.
“He knows he has to be a bit more careful now. One-night stands are obviously out of the question. Like my old gran used to say, It's best to get to know them first'. ”
Reader views (3)
He's a lucky guy, it could have so easily gone the other way. The police in this country so often follow the train tracks in the sure knowledge that they lead to the terminus ignoring the fact that the track go in both directions.
Its too easy to make an allegation when you do not need proof.
The cops in America are to be commended.
- Paul, East London, 10/02/2009 00:38
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Why didn't they charge the girl with false accusation and pursue recovery of court and other costs from her and her family?
- Re-Thinker, Washington, DC, USA, 09/02/2009 14:33
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Women who make false rape claims should get a rape-style sentence ie 10 years.
- Neil M., london uk,, 09/02/2009 13:59
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