A British nursing student has been subpoenaed to return to Greece after she was allegedly sexually assaulted on holiday – despite not wanting to press charges.
Sarah Honey, 24, had visited Crete in 2022 while on a girls’ trip when she says she was assaulted.
But due to the ‘overwhelming’ experience of reporting the alleged crime – as well as the language barrier – she decided not to pursue the case any further.
Four years later, Ms Honey and a friend are being dragged back to the ‘traumatising’ country and cannot access legal support or funding because of rule changes.
The student told the Daily Mail ahead of the trial: ‘I haven’t had to face this man for years and now I have to see him after I thought I would never have to see him again… it’s nerve-wracking.’
Ms Honey says the alleged assault took place at the bar next door to her hotel in Heraklion.
She says an ‘older’ bartender lured her to come behind the bar by offering to take pictures for her Instagram – it was during this encounter she alleged that he touched her inappropriately.
Sarah Honey (left) has been subpoenaed to return to Greece after she was allegedly sexually assaulted on holiday – despite not wanting to press charges
Having been forced to stop working due to medical issues, Ms Honey set up a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of this ‘nightmare’
Ms Honey said she did not know the man, who she described as being in his 50s, and had only engaged in basic ‘small talk’ when she entered the bar.
‘It all just happened at once,’ she said.
The next day, her holiday representative then advised her to go to the tourist police.
‘You’d have presumed they would understand some English but there was none whatsoever…There was a huge language barrier.’
After hours of waiting for the British Embassy to provide translation with her friend, Maisie, Ms Honey sat in the sweltering heat believing this was the right way to bring justice.
She continued: ‘I felt really vulnerable, they couldn’t speak English, we were at the police station for ages waiting for the embassy.
‘When I was giving a statement to the police it was bonkers, I was trying to explain what happened, the embassy then would repeat in Greek – and I had to trust this woman that she was saying my words how I had said it and not change the meaning.’
Deflated by the whole process and conscious she would likely spend another day, if not two, sorting out further police paperwork, she realised she would only have a few days spare left to enjoy the trip she had saved up months for.
‘We thought in the end it was better to just leave it,’ she said.
Sarah Honey, 24, had visited Crete (pictured) in 2022 while on a girls’ trip when she claimed she was assaulted
After a long day at the police station, Ms Honey said she and her friend ‘translated to the police “can we leave?”, we will never be coming back to Crete anyway because of this man’.
‘Or, at least, that’s what I thought had been told to them,’ she added.
Back at the hotel, Ms Honey was provided with security guards for the rest of the stay which helped her feel ‘a bit safe’ but remained very ‘on edge’.
‘We only went out during the day at crowded places after that, it’s all a bit of a blur,’ she said.
On her return to England, Ms Honey received support from the West Mercia Rape and Sexual Assault Support Centre, where she was able to access therapy and gain some closure from the traumatic incident.
She said: ‘I knew I wouldn’t have to see him in my local Tesco, he was in a completely different country, so I wasn’t constantly reminded of the actual incident.’
Four years passed with ‘no connection’ to Crete – then Ms Honey and her friend received a letter in the post from Greece to subpoena and testify against the individual who allegedly sexually assaulted her.
‘It was bizarre, no one told us it went to court,’ she said.
Ms Honey explained that the other factor in her decision to not pursue the incident with the police was that she presumed she would likely not see the man for the remainder of the trip as he was in ‘hiding’ – a Greek phenomenon when someone is accused of a crime.
In Greek law, police have 48 hours to arrest a suspect from when they have committed a crime for their detention and processing.
At the end of these two days, the case then goes to court which will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant if the suspect has not been taken in by police.
Ms Honey explained that she was told it is quite normal for suspects to be uncontactable for the 48 hours when police can arrest them – an issue that arose in her situation too.
‘The police kept coming to the hotel just saying he was in hiding,’ she said.
‘We just wanted to enjoy the rest of our holiday. I had made them aware of this man and felt that was enough.’
However, it is said in Greek law that although an individual may not want to pursue a case further, ‘certain offences are considered offences against the state itself, which has a duty to protect individuals and uphold public order’.
Panic ensued when Ms Honey read the subpoena which would bring her back to Crete, not only that she would once more have to face her alleged attacker, but principally that she did not have the economic means to return to Greece and fund a prolonged stay while she and her friend had to appear in court.
Ms Honey said that she had been in contact with the embassy and various lawyers but was told she was not eligible for Greek funding or reimbursements – as would normally be the case in the past – since the UK had left the EU.
‘If we don’t appear in the trial, we will be lawfully served,’ she said.
Although a consequence has not been clarified if she did not appear, it is believed that an arrest warrant for Ms Honey herself could be issued to be brought to Greece, which could be enforced in other areas of Europe considering the Schengen Area’s shared information systems, or pay a fine to the courts.
Ms Honey has now set up a GoFundMe with her friend who joined her at the police station and has been similarly subpoenaed, to help cover the legal costs of this ‘nightmare’ after being forced to stop working over medical issues.
‘I haven’t budgeted to go on holiday this year,’ she sighed, despairing over the looming costs.
‘I am currently unable to work due to ongoing medical issues, which forced me to leave my job and previous home, leaving me in a very difficult financial position without a financial support network,’ Ms Honey wrote on her GoFundMe.
‘My friend has only just started a new job, and together we simply cannot cover the cost of a lawyer.’
Ms Honey said there was a huge ‘time crunch’ having only received the letter last month.
She added that flight prices have been affected by the war in the Middle East and that several flights she had been considering were being cancelled.
She said: ‘I’m nervous that the court is in Greek. We do get a translator for free and the only time it will be in English is when I’m answering, but I just have to trust that the interpreter is saying what I mean to say’.
However when she appeared in court today, she was told her trial had been postponed to April 2027 and will have to return again then.
Ms Honey said she has spoken to British police and they said it is out of their jurisdiction, adding that ‘there is minimal support if a crime happened abroad’.
‘Until you’ve been in this situation you realise how minimal support there is for you in this country,’ she said.
‘It’s just a nightmare,’ she said.
The Foreign Office said: ‘We are supporting a British woman in Greece and are in touch with the local authorities.’
