Can i report an assult incident from 15 years ago?

I was wondering if you guys could help me here with advice.
Before anyone thinks oh she is just a bit short of a few bob and she is looking for any excuse at all to make a a quick buck, that is not the case.

I am not persuing this for money or looking to sue. I am looking to take possible action.

I have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks since i was a kid, i was a perfectly normal kid and then about the primary school age i started getting mood swings and my brain iq went down too, i started going from an A student down to a C at best.

Anyway, i recently have been getting anxiety health therapy, and they made me think back to any incidents which may have triggered my anxiety attacks, including an attempted burgularly at a friends` house several years back, and i then rememberd an incident which happened 15 years approx ago, where on the school ground, a classmate punched the back of my head repeatedly about 10 times.

Why i didnt report it, i dont know, i may have been afraid more than anything, but i was at the time dizzy, and it took me about 1 hour to regroup my senses.

I honestly cant remember that much from the time, it was at the end of a school day and i think i may have looked for a teacher but everyone was leaving, and then overnight i felt better and i think apart from a few angry glares at this lad, i didnt pursue it.

However the more i think back to that incident, the more my depression, brain iqs, learning abilities started to disintegrate around the time of that incident. And i am genuinely worried that i may have suffered some sort of brain damage from that incident.

I am not wanting to pursue it for financial reasons but the more now i as an adult look back at it, the more angry i am at this unprovoked attack, and the more i want to look at taking action about it.

It happened 15 years ago (i can look at the exact date if i researched it), and there were several people around when it happened, guys and girls i havent seen for years, but i am pretty sure if i tried hard enough to get hold of them, as they live in the same town, some of them may remember.

Is 15 years too late to prevent an assult charge?

I really would like a bit of advice because the more i think about it, the more i look at my current learning disabilties and anxietys starting around the time of that incident, and that attack could very well have ruined (well i am stil fairly young so it hasnt completly ruined my life), but it could very well have affected me in a bad way for life.

Thanks for reading, ps im in the UK.

I don't know about the U.K., but in the States the statute of limitations on a criminal assault charge is generally between 2 - 5 years, depending on which state you live in.

a reply to: lamplighters

I would check with your local law enforcement for statue of limitations. I'm sure they have something different in the UK.

Besides the obvious of wanting justice against someone who did that to you, perhaps you should begin seeking medical treatment. It's been 15 years since it happened but the reality is that it may just get worse. No money in the world (or seeing that person locked up) is going to bring your health back. Seek medical treatment before it becomes irreversible damage.

originally posted by: blackmetalmist
a reply to: lamplighters

I would check with your local law enforcement for statue of limitations. I'm sure they have something different in the UK.

Besides the obvious of wanting justice against someone who did that to you, perhaps you should begin seeking medical treatment. It's been 15 years since it happened but the reality is that it may just get worse. No money in the world (or seeing that person locked up) is going to bring your health back. Seek medical treatment before it becomes irreversible damage.

Thanks for reply
understand i am not interest in sueing or persuing money
But the more i trace back to when my anxiety/panic attacks/ learning abilities deteriorated, are around the time this incident happened, and in effect this could have to some extent ruined my life

a reply to: lamplighters

You can make a complaint to the police about any alleged crime no matter how long ago, but whether it inspires any action or not is the question.

If it troubles you so much then phone 101, make a complaint and request to speak to a warrant carrying police officer.
They may carry out the interview over the phone or you can request to see an officer in person at a station or your own home. Expect to wait a good week or two for the appointment though, for obvious reasons.

If you have witnesses who will confirm your story, or even better, medical records from the time of the assault all the better, the police may make the decision to speak to the alleged offender, but referring it to the Crown Prosecution Service is another matter altogether.

Prosecutions are regularly refused by the Crown when it is just one persons word against another.
But, and it is a big but, if you wish to send a message to the person who allegedly assaulted you then make that complaint to the police and insist they question them. If that gives you some peace then go for it, it is your right.

*Afterthought Edit*
If you complain to the police and they question the alleged offender you could even get lucky by the person foolishly saying "Oh yes I remember doing that, wow, that was years ago" or something like that.
If the attending cop has some sympathy for you he/she may seize on it as an admission and talk the person into accepting a formal police caution. It would be on their criminal record as an admission of guilt then.

I recommend getting over it and moving on.

Sounds rough but why are you living in the past?

Answer is no l'm sorry to say. The assault described is a low level common assault with only a six month prosecution time limit. I am a sympathetic UK officer.

a reply to: onequestion

If the OP believes that particular assault changed his/her life for the worse and is still facing challenges as a result then the law allows them in the UK to seek justice, even if it is many years ago.

*Note*
If it is a minor 'Summary' offence then a Magistrates court generally has a time limit of 6 months, but either-way offences or indictable only (tried at Crown Court) have no time limit.
The damaging effect to the OP's life could possibly be argued by a lawyer to be worthy of a Crown Court trial, but again, it all depends on the evidence OP has to support the complaint

a reply to: grainofsand

So 15 years later going to try and press charges?

Laaammmeeee

a reply to: kuraijanai2013

Nope, I disgree.
If the offence of multiple strikes to the back of the head had resulted in brain damage at the time then it would have gone to Crown which has no time limit.

If the OP can convince the Crown Prosecution Service that the assault resulted in long term damage only recently confirmed then yes it could potentially result in a Crown trial now.
Highly unlikely of course, but possible.

Respect to you doing your job as a sympathetic officer, but you can probably understand why I love the CPS because they make the decision to go to court, not you beat plods who sometimes do not even fully understand the law.
I've been 'no further action' many times over the years due to a decision at the CPS when ill-informed emotional constables have been baying for my blood in a prosecution.

It's a game at the end of the day, police are not 'the law' but the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts are.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It is the CPS and the courts who decide that, not you police officers...thankfully.

a reply to: lamplighters

Really the answer is very simple, go ask the police.

a reply to: onequestion

I don't know the details of the case so I cannot speculate the success potential for the OP, frankly I don't care, I'm just sharing honest advice regarding the UK justice system.
That is being mature, reasoned, and helpful.
Laugh as much as you like but it seems a bit unkind to me, we don't know the OP, maybe he/she is badly traumatised for all we know.
I'll certainly always offer honest and reasoned advice when folk like you just say get over it or whatever.

You sound unsympathetic, and that's cool, but I'll continue to offer an impartial alternative to ridicule.

a reply to: lamplighters

A playground incident won't be investigated 15 years after the fact , you didn't report it to the school at the time so there is no evidence to support the claim.

a reply to: gortex

A violent assault which could result in trial at a Crown Court has no time limit.
That is the law, even if you don't like it, so I repeat:

If the offence of multiple strikes to the back of the head had resulted in brain damage at the time then it would have gone to Crown which has no time limit.

If the OP can convince the Crown Prosecution Service that the assault resulted in long term damage only recently confirmed then yes it could potentially result in a Crown trial now.
Highly unlikely of course, but possible.

a reply to: grainofsand

I didn't say there was a time limit but there's no evidence to support an investigation.

Sorry that allegedly happened to you 15 years ago is pretty much all you will get legally. If it happened at school I assume you were both minors at the time so another negative for punishment.




a reply to: lamplighters

I have a simple solution.

Lookup the individual that beat on you back in school and seek an apology from them on the phone. Explain it was a $hitty thing to do and you are now in therapy as a direct result.

If the person acts like a butthole, just start breathing heavy into the phone until they hang up. Now they will be the one losing sleep and sanity for a while.

Win/Win. You now can move on with your life and ditch the therapist. Case closed.

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: grainofsand

I didn't say there was a time limit but there's no evidence to support an investigation.

We don't know what evidence there may or may not be, only the OP knows that.
It is the reason I offered friendly and honest advice.

Nothing is going to happen 15 years later. The only person you should tell about this experience at this point is your mental health professional. You obviously need someone to talk to if it is still affecting you.

a reply to: lamplighters

My advise would be to personally look the offending individuals number and address up, it's not expensive or hard.

That way you can seek the apology and understanding it seems you would have liked back then. Or alternately see if they are still an idiot. The fact you looked them up and remember should be a good jolt to their reality.

Hey your a survivor, I salute you.


Cheers!