Not Guilty Man Cleared False Rape & Sexual Offences Isleworth Crown Court 2024

The case related to an alleged controlling and coercive relationship between the defendant and a man 8 years his junior.  It was the prosecution case that the defendant forced the complainant into a sexual relationship with him for over 2.5 years. The defendant faced multiple charges of -

Causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity x 3

Rape x 4

Sexual assault

Controlling and coercive behaviour x 1

The prosecution case was based on witness testimony evidence as well as extensive text messages.

The defendant strongly denied the allegations.

The defence case was that the allegations were false. The defendant strongly denied all allegations of sexual contact between him and the complainant in any capacity.

Aside from to provide a false impression of the defendant and to damage his character the motivation was unclear. There was possibility that the complainant alleged that he was forced because of rumours about complainant’s sexuality in the area he lived.

We established that although there were text messages which may have given a certain impression, there was more than one interpretation which could be put on them. The messages highlighted that the defendant was acting as a mentor to the complainant, in the absence of a supportive family and stable living situation.

We sourced the defendant’s medical records to demonstrate that he had existing mental health conditions and required frequent breaks during the trial process. The judge accepted this.

We instructed and secured a specialist sex offences barrister Catherine Purnell of 5 Paper Buildings to handle court representation. She is an experienced jury advocate, with expertise in defending serious sexual and violent offences.

We took detailed instructions from our client on the full evidence and telephone records. We were able to persuade the jury that the prosecution was unable to prove their case and that our client was not guilty. We ensured that our client’s case was prepared thoroughly in conjunction with his trial barrister which was evident in the successful outcome.

We secured bail at the outset in this serious allegation and the defendant remained on bail.

Had our client been convicted he would have undoubtedly faced a prison sentence of approaching 20 years.

Our sexual offences team has substantial experience of the defence of the most serious sexual offence allegations.