Email: stuart@ssdll.co.uk
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I was recently asked by the BBC to give an expert opinion on issues that have arisen following the campaign "We Can't Consent To This". The campaign is seeking to have a defence of manslaughter removed from the statute book wherever a person (more often than not a man) is accused of killing a person during the course of "rough sex".
I appeared on the Stephen Nolan show for BBC Radio 5 Live.
In a recent case heard at Belfast Crown Court, a man who was found to possess more than 500 indecent images and videos was placed on probation for three years. Critical considerations in the case were 'sexual immaturity' and that the accused made full admissions when interviewed by police.
The UK Government has been advised that they should impose stricter travel restrictions on UK citizens who have been convicted of sex offences. The recent Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) has resulted in a 73-page document to address international child sex abuse. The report showed that between 2013-2017, 361 UK nationals sought consular advice after being arrested for child sex offences overseas. Crucially, the report identified gaps in the UK legal system that it called on the government to address, notably more significant use of foreign travel restriction in sexual offences cases. The report says:
Metropolitan police chief, Supt Robyn Williams, was found guilty of possessing indecent images on her phone after she received an unsolicited WhatsApp message that included a video of child sexual abuse. The jury at the Old Bailey heard how Williams was attending a gym class when she was sent the video by her sister, who wanted the person who made the video caught by police and charged.
Women’s organisations and senior lawyers have begun to look more closely at the use of ‘rough sex gone wrong’ as a defence to sexual crimes in the courtroom. Many have proposed a change in the law, following the discovery by researchers of a tenfold rise in the use of the argument in UK courts in cases where women have been killed.
In recent news, it has been revealed that The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) may have implemented secret targets for prosecutors in relation to rape cases. This may have resulted in tens-of-thousands of rape cases being dropped.
An unofficial policy which called on prosecutors to have ‘levels of ambition’ and to strive to achieve a 60% conviction rate in rape cases, is alleged to have encouraged prosecutors to drop rape cases that did not have a high chance of conviction.
In recent years, the number and type of sexual offences facilitated by technology have increased. As our world becomes ever more reliant on technology, questions are arising about how to deal with these 'new' offences. As sexual offences defence lawyers, it is important that we remain up to date with the regulation of these crimes as well as the approach of the court towards prosecution.
Very young witnesses can find the process of giving evidence daunting and are often liable to forget crucial details of their testimony in a very short space of time. There has been a serious concern in recent years that the process for obtaining evidence from witnesses in cases concerning sexual crimes is too slow, and that the process may be too intimidating. Current measures allowing the complainant to give evidence at an early stage, and other 'special measures may reduce the stress and trauma child witnesses experience but is also designed to allow the complainant to recall more accurate evidence.
Following the accusations made against Jimmy Savile, Operation Hydrant was set up to investigate claims of historic sex crimes. Of the 7,396 cases on the police database, only 29% ended in conviction. However, those who were wrongly accused of crimes are still facing the repercussions of the allegations. With such a massive influx of cases as a direct result of the Savile scandal and Operation Hydrant, some now believe that police and prosecutors were too quick to believe allegations without proper investigation.
How many times have I heard a friend or family member of a convicted person say “X was let down by his previous solicitor, they did not listen to instructions, they did not give appropriate advice…”
