Katrina Charles

Introduction

Katrina has an established defence and prosecution practice. A persuasive criminal advocate who regularly leads in multi-defendant complex cases. A fraud specialist with a background in accountancy. She has extensive experience in the conduct of trials involving serious crime which include novel and complex points of law and fact. She is included on the rape and serious sexual offences panel and deals with highly sensitive sexual offences involving vulnerable complainants.

Notable cases

R v S, 2021

A victimless prosecution of a defendant charged with sexual offences concerning an elderly lady with mixed dementia. A case requiring sensitive handling when dealing with the ‘victim’s’ family as they were witnesses. A case wholly reliant on psychiatric evidence, third party material and body worn evidence to ascertain the ‘victim’s’ demeanour and her mental health. This was a factually and legally complex case. It is presumed that a person has the mental capacity to consent until this presumption is displaced. A legally intricate process reliant upon case law both civil and criminal. Isleworth Crown Court

R v R and others, 2020-2021

Led by Justin Rouse KC in largest criminal trial staged under Covid conditions prosecuting a multi-defendant trial involving gang murder of teenager. Youngest defendant was 14 at time of offence. Convictions for murder, manslaughter and knife offences followed. Woolwich Crown Court.

News report here

R -v- I et al, 2019

Leading junior prosecuting 9 defendants charged with fraud concerning the high street store Boots. Croydon Crown Court.

R -v- H et al, 2018

Leading junior prosecuting a multi-handed commercial insurance fraud considered to be the largest insurance fraud investigated by City of London police. It has led to conferences and seminars being held so that the insurance companies can gain an understanding of the methods deployed to defraud and alter their internal criteria. Inner London Crown Court.

R -v- L, 2018

The widely reported case concerning a defendant charged with two counts of sending an article conveying false information contrary to the Malicious Communications Act. The defendant had written a book ‘Behind the Artichokes’ which she published privately and sent to members of her sisters’ community. The jury were invited to read the book in the privacy of their room and The Times reported that Observers said that the most recent case they could recall in which a jury had been told to read an entire book was the obscenity trial of Penguin Books over Lady Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence in 1960.

R v R et al, 2017

Leading junior prosecuting a multi-handed ‘crash for cash’ insurance fraud. Factually and legally complex involving two solicitors’ firms and attracting an interest by the SRA. The main defendant absconded during examination in chief and ‘new’ bank accounts were discovered attributed to one of the defendant’s (a doctor) during the trial.

Inner London Crown Court.

R v L, January 2015 – May 2016. Confiscation November 2017

Leading junior prosecuting a multi-handed conspiracy to steal involving high value motor vehicles and PII. This was one of four trials as a result of a large scale operation involving officers from the National Crime Squad. Having attended the locations where the cars were stored to examine them with the assistance of the vehicle examination expert for the purposes of satisfying an audit trail as part of the PII consideration Katrina can assert that ‘what she doesn’t know about cars isn’t worth knowing’.

Two of the defendants Franckevicius and Baraka’s appealed their convictions, the full court heard the application and ruled the convictions safe. The judgement handed down by LJ Hallett makes for an interesting read. Snaresbrook Crown Court, CoA June 2017.