When Fran Syvret received a flirty text message from party-loving friend Ashleigh Loder inviting him round for a few drinks, it seemed like a fun way to spend an evening.

But what turned out to be a drunken one-night stand almost ruined his life. Mum-of-two Loder, 25 subsequently accused him of rape. The police were informed and Syvret was called in for questioning.

Even worse, Loder spread her false claims around Bideford, Devon, where they both lived, leading to he and his ex-partner and the mother of his child receiving death threats.



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Fran Syvret was falsely accused of rape after a one-night stand: last month his accuser was jailed for perverting the course of justice

Syvret became a virtual recluse, was shunned by the local community, lost two stone through stress and could barely leave the house.

Last month Loder, 25, was sentenced to six months in prison for perverting the course of justice.



But Syvret, speaking on ITV's This Morning, said that an apology didn't make up for what she had put him and his family through.

Syvret told This Morning presenters Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby that initially he thought Loder 'seemed OK, she liked a drink and a party.'

She had been flirting with him via text messages, and one night invited him to come round.

'There was drink involved and we had sex,' admitted Syvret, The pair had also filmed the encounter on his mobile phone and Loder had posed for pictures.

Syvret thought nothing was wrong and later left to go out with some friends. But he then received a text message from Loder saying that she'd been raped.

Shocked, he went round to Loder's house and found the police were already talking to Loder. He showed them the text message that he'd received.

Fran Syvret (left) told This Morning about how being falsely accused of rape made him a virtual recluse: criminologist Jane Monckton-Smith (right) said his case was 'very, very rare

The next day, the police contacted him and questioned him about his relationship with Loder. It then turned out that she had accused him of rape.

He later discovered that she'd initially told police that she had been raped by a group of strangers in an alleyway, changing her story when police couldn't find any evidence to back up her story.

'Things started unravelling,' said Syvret. 'The police later told me she'd been backed into a corner and then had to fall back on something, and used me.'

But the photos on his camera proved that Loder had willingly had sex with him and her story fell apart.

However Loder had already spread her false claims all around Bideford that Syvret had raped her, which meant Syvret was forced into hiding, living like a virtual recluse.

Fran Syvret said that the apology from the women who falsely accused him of rape didn't make up for what she had put him and his family through

'My then ex-partner Jane received phone calls and text messages saying that someone was going to slit my throat,' said Syvret. 'I lost two stone in weight and got very depressed.'

'You were branded a rapist?' asked Schofield.

'Yes,' replied Syvret.'I didn't go out of the house for ages and went nowhere without Jane. I was always looking over my shoulder.'

Last month, Loder, whose false claims wasted 100 hours of police time, was jailed for six months for perverting the course of justice.



Judge Phillip Wassall told her: 'The man was branded a rapist locally and it caused him considerable distress and suffered threats within the local area and lost time off work.'

'One can only imagine what it is like to be accused of a very serious crime which could carry a sentence of around six years.

Jonathan Barnes, prosecuting, said: 'The allegations had a considerable effect on him. They were bandied about the area and he had to live like a recluse for two weeks. He lost two stone in weight through the stress and had problems sleeping.'

Greg Richardson, defending, said of Loder: 'Her life was a complete dream and she convinced herself she had been raped. Who knows what was going on in her mind but she believed something within her had said no.

Mum-of-two Ashleigh Loder was jailed for six months after falsely accusing Fran Syvret of rape

'She says the situation she got into was rock bottom. She wishes to apologise sincerely to the man.'

Syvret said that he is now trying to get his life back together. The allegations affected not only him but his family, particularly his mother who was grieving the loss of his father, and his partner Jane who was suffering from cancer.

He said: 'The apology doesn't mean anything to me, not for what I've been through and what other people around me have been put through.

Criminal psychologist Jane Monckton-Smith said that this kind of case was 'very very rare'.

'It's sometimes done for revenge or to gain sympathy, or it's mental health-related, or due to stresses in the woman's life. But of all the offences to be accused of, sexual offences have to be the worst.'

She added that Loder's actions did not help the cause of genuine rape victims. 'This is absolutely terrible because believeabilty is absolutely key and this kind of case sends a really bad message to those people who have been victimised,' she said

One good thing to emerge from Syvret's ordeal was that he has now got back together with his former partner, Jane, but he said still had a long way to go to recover from his experience.







