News & Legal Advice
Kidnapping Acquittal
Published - Sep 20, 2023
Foster and Coleman acted for a defendant facing trial for offences of kidnapping, and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence. The allegations arose after the defendant and complainant had met via an online dating app. The case had been listed for trial earlier this year, but the Judge was forced to discharge the jury on day three as a result of persistent issues relating to belated disclosure of unused material by the prosecution. A new trial date was fixed for March 2024.
Defence persistence had resulted in the disclosure of a number of crime reports previously made by the complainant concerning allegations of serious offences against different individuals. The crime reports made clear that police enquiries into each had indicated a likelihood that the complainant had not been entirely truthful in her accounts, and in each instance the complainant had subsequently withdrawn the allegations.
In addition, in preparation for the trial the defence team had trawled through many hours of CCTV footage from venues visited by the complainant and defendant, some of which threw up a number of glaring inconsistencies with the allegations made to the police.
The case was due to be listed for legal argument in relation to a bad character application against the complainant, but prior to this the prosecution provided confirmation that they would not be seeking a second trial and would instead be offering no evidence, which they did at a subsequent hearing. Not guilty verdicts were entered and the defendant discharged by the Court. Our client was delighted and relieved and provided the following wonderful feedback:
‘Upon speaking to you the first day you spoke with confidence. The rest was history and that’s the best choice I ever made in my life. With Steve and his team you pay for quality, and you get what you paid for. I received professional service, and they were very responsive in terms of communication. I would also like to give special thanks to my barrister Sarah O’Kane whom Steve recommended, and of course Tom Walsh.
You guys worked hard to get me justice !!! Thanks and God bless’
Our client was represented by the fantastic Miss Sarah O'Kane of 187 Chambers
https://www.187chambers.com/barristers/sarah-okane
Posted in Criminal Defence on Sep 20, 2023