Charged with a False Sexual Offence Allegation: How do we defend your case?
Charged with a False Sexual Offence Allegation: How do we defend your case?
- Taking a detailed background from you
- Discussing your arrest and police investigation
- The complainant, if they are known to you and your relationship with them
- What you know about the complainant
- The allegation
Instructing Forensic Experts
Depending on the nature of the offence forensic evidence may be required. This evidence can be in the form of electronic forensics in for example an indecent image case, or medical/DNA evidence if there is an allegation of a contact offence. Medical and DNA evidence is usually, in the first instance, gathered by the police. The defence may not accept the evidence and require their own expert opinion.
Forensic experts can also include psychiatric experts or psychological experts.
Obtaining Text Message Evidence
The police are likely to have seized your phone, if so and if they are relying on any material extracted from it this evidence will be given in the form of a streamlined forensic report (SFR). There are various issues that can arise with reports prepared by police forensic staff, we carefully consider those and advise in all cases proceeding to trial that a defence expert is instructed to consider, scrutinise and undertake their own examination of the data.
We can also request for the phone of the complainant to be examined. We initially prefer this to be done during the investigation stage, and where we represent clients during this process it is certainly a line of enquiry we would raise with the police by way of pre-charge representations. The problem with obtaining the complainants phone is that the policies in place for the investigation of sexual offences make it very difficult for this line of enquiry to be completed. There have however, been cases whereby our lawyers have raised such strong legal and evidential points that police have gone on to examine complainant and prosecution witnesses phones. This can be extremely beneficial in cases where collusion may be suggested, or there is communication between witnesses (including the complainant) which undermines the allegation.
A Review of Social Media Accounts
Social media accounts can be crucial in sexual assault cases, it is very common for the complainant or their friends and family to make comments about the allegations on their social media. Continuously reviewing the social media throughout the case and dating back to the time of the alleged offence can provide evidence that undermines the account of the complainant.
We have had past cases whereby the complainant has given evidence to the police that she no longer wants to go out or see friends, but their social media says otherwise!
Taking Witness Statements/Obtaining Character References
It is unlikely that the police have made any effort to speak to witnesses who may assist the accused’s case, or it may be that certain witnesses hadn’t be identified until the CPS disclose their evidence. Our team of expert lawyers will establish witnesses by considering the evidence and speaking with you.
Not all evidence has to relate to the allegations, we can also call character evidence. This evidence will come from people who know you and can speak highly of your good nature, this helps us to show that it is less likely that a person of good character has committed an alleged sexual offence.
We will take over all communications with potential defence witnesses, obtain their evidence and support them through the process of giving witness evidence in your case.
Obtaining CCTV
Obtaining CCTV months or years after the event can be impossible, most CCTV is overwritten after a period of time. Therefore, if there is potential CCTV evidence it is always best to have this line of enquiry raised with the police as soon as possible. If it is not, and it becomes apparent that CCTV was in existence and the police did not obtain it, then this puts the defendant at a disadvantage at court. There are special directions that should be given to a jury in cases where the passage of time has prejudice the defendant. We will of course exhaust all possible ways to obtain the CCTV in the first instance, and protect our client at court where they have be put at a disadvantage due to evidence that may assist them not being secured.
Site Visits
Many of our cases involve our lawyers travelling to the alleged offence location to obtain scene photographs, produce maps and floor plans. We then exhibit this through a witness statement as evidence in your case.
Providing visual evidence can be very helpful in a trial which involves sexual allegations. An example of a case where this proved to be important was in a case which concerned a historical rape of a child, a case where our client received not guilty verdicts. In this case our lawyers travelled to the parent’s home of our client and took photographs, they did a walk through of the property and produced floor plans. They also exhibited a statement which gave a description of the home. The purpose of this was to prove that that the complainant could not see her parents’ home from the bedroom window of the accused, our lawyers’ photos and evidence proved that this was a lie.
Obtaining Third Party Material in Relation to the Complainant
If it becomes evident to the defence that the complainant has a background which includes mental health issues, contact with social services, issues at school etc then we may be entitled to receive third party disclosure from the police/CPS which relate to the relevant matters. An example may be where the complainant refers to the impact of their schooling (school records), or that they have received counselling due to the alleged offending (counselling records), or they have discussed the allegations with their GP (medical records). Where at all there is the potential for a paper trial of the disclosures relating to the allegations then we must request them from the CPS. If they refuse to release records which we say will provide relevant evidence, then we can make a Section 8 application for disclosure to the court.
The material we may identify to assist your case is dependent on the evidence provided to us by the CPS and the detail we obtain from you during our meetings. The potential we can explore for our clients are endless. At Eventum Legal we tailor our defence strategy to you and your case, you can be assured that our lawyers will explore every avenue to build a strong defence case when our clients are facing a court proceedings for a sexual offence.
If you would like to discuss your case we offer a free initial consultation where we can explain the process to you, and how we intend to begin to build your defence action plan. Contact our friendly lawyers today for a confidential chat and to find out more about how we can help you navigate your way through preparing the defence of a sexual offence allegation.
Choosing a lawyer who you can build a relationship with is crucial, the defence of your case depends upon the team you have behind you and the communication between you.
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