press charges
Verb
Meaning
press charges
To formally accuse a person of a crime, especially by an ordinary person.
I'm pressing charges against you for assaulting me.
Synonyms
Examples
Afraid he'll be expelled and sent to prison, Tessa visits Zed in the hospital and convinces him not to press charges.
Afterwards, McNamara refused to press charges, making clear he knew on some level he deserved punishment.
However, he refused to press charges against any member of the mob, stating it was one of his principles not to seek redress for a personal wrong in a court of law.
Additionally, prosecutors cite the accounts of four other women who they believe to be victims of Winner but who haven’t taken legal action, either because the statute of limitations has elapsed or because they declined to press charges.
Before deciding to prosecute, the CPS must assess whether there is firstly enough evidence for a realistic chance of conviction and secondly if there is a public interest to press charges.
He told police he was jumped “because they didn’t like the fact I was gay,” something he would later reiterate to a detective, and informed them he wanted to press charges.