News

Not Guilty of Sexual Assault at Blackfriars Crown Court

Naomi Alcendor and Caitriona McLaughlin have secured the unanimous acquittal of a client charged with serious sexual offending before Blackfriars Crown Court in London.

The client was accused of a series of historic sexual offending against his ex-partner which went back to the early 1970s. The case was complicated by the historic nature of the allegation and was extremely distressing for the client who consistently maintained his not guilty instructions. He was represented by Lansbury Worthington from the early stages of the police investigation, and his case was thoroughly prepared for trial by his solicitor, Caitriona McLaughlin.

One of the key issues in the case was the failure of the police to locate and interview important witnesses whose accounts were valuable for the defence case. Fortunately for the client, Catriona’s hard work and determination to ensure all the relevant evidence was before the jury meant that she was able to locate these witnesses and secure their attendance at the trial. Another issue was a large amount of third party material which significantly undermined the prosecution case, but which the prosecution refused to serve. Caitriona and Naomi challenged the prosecution’s refusal to disclosure this material and successfully secured this material in time for it to be available at the trial.

Not only did the case needed to be sensitively handled due to the nature of the allegations, but also required firm and effective advocacy by Naomi in court to ensure the client’s defence was presented in the strongest possible light. After a two week trial the jury were unanimous in their not guilty verdict.