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Posts Tagged ‘sexual assault’

Best Sexual Assault Solicitors Secure Victory At Trial

best sexual assault solicitors

 

Best Sexual Assault Solicitors Secure Victory At Trial

 

Darrell contacted us absolutely bewildered and terrified. He had been wrongly charged with sexual assault.

 

He just did not know what to do.

 

From our first conversation with Darrell it became apparent that this was clearly a malicious allegation.

 

Lucy, the alleged victim was the sister of Charlie, who was, at the time, a tenant of Darrell’s. Charlie, however, had not paid her rent in months, so Darrell was having to go through the process of evicting her from the flat. Because Charlie was young, her mum acted as guarantor, and so Darrell, as per the agreement, was contacting Charlie and Lucy’s Mum to recover the outstanding rent.

 

Lucy became involved a few days before the eviction was due to take place. She contacted Darrell and appeared to be the more reasonable sister and was arranging for Charlie to hand over the keys to the flat. 

 

An agreement was put into place and the three of them met up at Charlie’s flat and the key was handed over. The flat was in a state, and items had gone missing.  Darrell decided that he would go forward with obtaining the outstanding rent from their Mum due to the state of the property.

 

Lucy invited Darrell back to her house for a cup of tea, so that they could discuss things and get everything sorted. Again Lucy was very determined to try and persuade Darrell to not pursue her mother for the outstanding rent.

 

Lucy started talking about her tattoos, and began to show them to Darrell (without his request).  Darrell was not interested.  Lucy then asked Darrell to touch a scar in the centre of her back to see if it was raised.

 

Darrell was there for around 45 minutes.

 

A few days later Darrell was arrested on suspicion of Sexual Assault against Lucy.

 

He was charged and given a date to attend Derby Magistrates Court.

 

This is when he contacted us, looking for the best sexual assault solicitors to help him.

 

We arranged for Darrell to come in and meet his caseworker, Jess Sadler [pictured above], face to face so he could tell us what happened.

 

There were no time limits.  It was just Darrell’s chance to tell us what really happened, and we were there to listen for as long as he needed.

 

We started preparing his case immediately. We knew how important this was to him, and how life changing it would be if he was falsely convicted of the offence.

 

It was a difficult case from the beginning. It was essentially his word against hers, with no evidence to support either version of events.

 

Darrell was represented by our senior solicitor, Steve Williams.  Steve has over 25 years’ experience in criminal matters and is personally known to Derby Magistrates.  Darrell wanted the best sexual assault solicitors and there was no better person to represent Darrell.

 

As the best sexual assault solicitors in the area, we are used to thinking outside the box and building every case individually, free from templates, pro-formas or any other restrictions.  In this case, we decided that due to the lack of third-party evidence to support our case, we would use something that nobody could deny to persuade the Magistrates to believe Darrell’s version of events.

 

We used Darrell.

 

Darrell had been a landlord for many years, and so many of his tenants wanted to help in whatever way they could to repay the help that Darrell had given to them. We contacted each of them, explained the process and took witness statements from them all.

 

The point was we wanted to show to the court that Darrell was not the type of person who would commit this offence.

 

Darrell came in and had numerous meetings with his caseworker, and met with Steve before the trial to prepare him for what was going to happen and help him through cross examination.

 

The trial day came.

 

Darrell attended with his witnesses, Steve and his caseworker.

 

We went into court and the prosecution opened the case and called Lucy to the stand. Lucy gave evidence which completely contradicted the statements she had given to the police.

 

Steve cross-examined her and highlighted all of these discrepancies in her evidence.

 

Lucy’s mum was then called to give evidence, as it was alleged that Lucy rang her straight after the alleged incident to tell her about what had happened. This evidence again contradicted everything that was said in both cross-examination of Lucy and her police statements.

 

At this stage the prosecution case was finished.

 

It was our turn to put forward Darrell’s defence.

 

We asked for a short moment to discuss with our client.

 

We went out and explained that he was in such a strong position right now, and so we advised that it was worthwhile making a submission that there was no case to answer to the court.

 

If it was successful then the case would be thrown out and that would be the end of the matter.

 

We explained the pros and cons of making the submission, and Darrell agreed it was worth a go.

 

Steve went into the court room and made a very persuasive argument as to why there was no case to answer.

 

The Magistrates went away and considered our application.

 

After a short five minutes they returned.

 

No case to answer.

 

Darrell was free to go.

 

Darrell and his partner were overwhelmed.  We had saved Darrell from having to stand up in court, and had protected his innocence.

 

We are now working with Darrell to recover his legal fees from the National Taxing Team. 

 

If you need the best sexual assault solicitors to defend you, call us now on 01623 397200. 

 

Sexual Assault Solicitors: Asperger’s Syndrome

sexual assault solicitors

Sexual Assault Solicitors: Asperger’s Syndrome

 

Forrest Williams are specialist sexual assault solicitors and we were instructed recently to represent a vulnerable 18 year old, Harry, who was charged with two counts of sexual assault. The allegation was that he had instigated conversation with two females on separate occasions and proceeded to touch them, the touching involving kissing their foreheads and placing his arm around them.

 

 

 

Sexual assault is an offence under section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003:

 

  1. A person (A) commits an offence if –
    1. He intentionally touches another person (b),
    2. The touching is sexual,
    3. B does not consent to the touching, and
    4. A does not reasonably believe that B consents.

 

Harry admitted that he had spoken to and touched the females as alleged, but told us that his intentions were not sexual and that he believed the girls had consented. The difficulty was that he had made a full admission in police interview, accepting that his intentions were sexual and it was clear that the females had not consented.

 

Upon dealing with Harry and his very concerned parents, it was clear that the young man had some difficulties. Thankfully, due to our specialist knowledge as sexual assault solicitors, we recognised this and understood it, and advised Harry’s parents that he should be assessed for Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

 

We guided and supported Harry and his family through this emotional process, referring him to a trusted expert who conducted an in-depth assessment and diagnosed Harry with Asperger’s Syndrome.

 

Our expert prepared an in-depth report commenting on the prosecution evidence against Harry, including his behaviour in the police interview. She concluded that as part of his Asperger’s Syndrome, Harry was very susceptible to being lead and would answer how he believed people wanted him to, without realising he was doing this. This explained his answers in police interview. When the officer, clearly concerned about a female reporting an alleged sexual assault, told Harry that the female hadn’t specifically requested him to touch her, Harry was so eager to agree with the officer and please him that he would answer with, “I completely agree, it’s out of order and I shouldn’t have touched her at all”. He would rephrase the officer’s questions and statements and present them as his own answers, almost word for word.

 

This greatly helped our case, and allowed us to do two things –

 

Firstly, it allowed us to request that Harry’s 5 day trial hearing take into account his diagnosis and make some simple changes to allow the trial process to be accessible for him.

 

Secondly, it allowed us to present an already strong case to the prosecution and place some pressure on them to review the matter and consider withdrawing the charges before trial.

 

Finally, after many months of working tirelessly on Harry’s case every single day, the prosecution confirmed that they would drop the case.

 

Caseworker Katie Forrest, who specialises in sexual defence cases and has a particular interest in defending vulnerable clients, was able to make the telephone call to Harry’s family to share the good news.

 

“I was actually on vacation in America when the news came in, and the whole team back in the office were absolutely delighted and so excited – this case was very special to us all. I rang the family, who were also on vacation, and shared the good news and they were so relieved and happy. While every case is important and meaningful to us here at Forrest Williams, there are some cases that will stay with you forever, and this is definitely one of those cases for me.”

 

If you are being investigated for a sexual offence, call our expert team now on 01623 397200.

 

What Are Rape, Assault by Penetration and Sexual Assault?

If you are investigated for a sexual offence, it is vital that you seek legal advice from specialist solicitors for sexual offences as soon as possible.

 

In this post, we will explain the difference between three of the most common sexual offences: rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault.  These terms are often used interchangeably, but each is a very specific offence and our advice in terms of your plea will depend on the specific charge against you.

 

What is Rape?

 

Rape is a criminal offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

 

Rape is committed where a person intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with his penis when the other person does not consent to such activity and the perpetrator does not reasonably believe that the other person consents.

 

Whether the alleged offender will be seen to have reasonably believed that consent was present will be determined based on all of the circumstances of the case.

 

A person found guilty of rape can be sentenced to life imprisonment.

 

What is assault by penetration?

 

Assault by penetration occurs when a person penetrates the vagina or anus of another person with a part of his body or anything else for sexual purposes where the other person does not consent and the alleged offender does not reasonably believe they consent.

 

A person found guilty of assault by penetration can be sentenced to life imprisonment.

 

What is sexual assault?

 

Sexual assault occurs when a person intentionally touches another person for sexual purposes without the consent of that person and where they do not reasonably believe that they do consent.

 

A person found guilty of sexual assault can be sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.

 

What is causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent?

 

This offence is committed when a person intentionally causes another person to engage in a sexual activity where the other person does not consent to the activity and the alleged offender does not reasonably believe that they consent.

 

Sentencing for people found guilty of this offence can range from a fine to 10 years’ imprisonment, so ensuring that the specifics of the allegation are correct is vital with cases like this.

 

If you are being investigated for, or charged with any of these matters, you need solicitors for sexual offences to give you advice urgently.  Forrest Williams are specialists in this field – call us now for advice on01623 397200.

 

 

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