James Harrison secures unanimous acquittal for man accused of campaign of sexual violence in a controlling relationship

A man accused of multiple serious offences, including allegations of rape, assault by penetration, domestic violence, and controlling and coercive behaviour, has been unanimously acquitted by a jury following a nine day trial.

The Prosecution alleged that PN had issues with alcohol, which caused him to conduct himself with violence and control, ultimately doing so for his own sexual gratification. This proposition was underpinned by PN’s previous conviction for attempted murder of a girl that arose out of a sexual assault he had committed as a teenager.

On the eve of trial, the Defence received a download of PN’s mobile phone containing almost 58,000 messages, hundreds of documents and thousands of images.

The Defence case was that the allegations made against PN were (at least in part) made in the complainant’s knowledge of his past as a sex offender and the particular details of that earlier offence. Therefore, the decision was taken to adduce PN’s previous conviction notwithstanding its highly prejudicial nature. By his hard work in reviewing the phone download, James was able to produce message schedules and bank statements, which presented a very impression of the relationship than the Prosecution case in respect of the level of control exercised by PN over the complainant and his level of drinking, respectively.

The successful conduct of the case required intensive review of the phone download followed by a successful application made under s.41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to present key messages to the jury, and careful closing submissions calculated to lessen the prejudicial impact of PN’s previous conviction.

The jury returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on all counts within four hours of retiring.

James Harrison was instructed by Gemma King of Main Nickolls Solicitors.