Mr D was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in public and of Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm (ABH) in the alternative.
Mr D always admitted presence and later attempted a S.24 citizen’s arrest on the complainant. However, he maintained that he was not responsible for pushing her to the ground, causing injuries to her knees and touching her sexually along her waistband as alleged.
In cross-examination, the complainant agreed that she was intoxicated and could not be sure that the person who pushed her to the ground and touched her waistband was Mr D. After further questioning, Sophie was able to elicit the inconsistencies in the chronology of the account given by the complainant against other crown witnesses and highlight the clear discrepancies in the descriptions given of the perpetrator. As a result, Sophie made a submission of no case to answer at the close of the prosecution case, arguing that when taking the prosecution case at its highest, there was not sufficient evidence to convict.
The Judge agreed, remarking that Sophie’s submissions were ‘short, pertinent and to the point’ and that there was no case to answer, directing the Jury to find Mr D not guilty of both counts on the indictment at St Albans Crown Court.
Sophie Stevens was instructed by Toni Hennessy-Ling of Lawtons Solicitors.
