Carer Acquitted of Sexual Accusations Made by a Patient

Case study summary

Our client was accused of sexually assaulting a patient under his care. He denied the allegation. We represented our client from the date of his first interview under caution, and throughout the criminal proceedings, until he was found Not Guilty following a trial by jury.

Case study

Our client was employed as a carer. An allegation was made by a patient at his place of work that he had intentionally penetrated her vagina with his finger without her consent, thereby committing the offence of sexual assault by penetration. Our client denied the allegation but he was understandably terrified of the situation because, despite the fact that he knew he had not committed the offence, he would have faced a lengthy and immediate prison sentence if wrongly convicted which would have been especially difficult for him, his wife and his young children.

We attended our client's interview under caution where his defence was advanced on his behalf via a carefully drafted written statement. Following a lengthy investigation by the police, our client was then charged and we immediately began to prepare his case for trial.

During our preparations for trial, we took detailed instructions from our client and obtained witness statements to support his defence, including from one of his colleagues. We collected character references from his friends and family members which confirmed that the allegation was completely inconsistent with his character as he was a man of good character who had never been involved with the police or criminal justice system before. English was also not our client's first language so we had to take careful steps to ensure that he understood the law, the circumstances of his case, and the process at each stage.

We instructed a barrister, Mr Robert Elias of Lincoln House Chambers, for the trial and we also attended court in order to support our client and assist his barrister. We applied for an interpreter to attend court and translate for him as well because, while he was able to understand English well, there were occasions where he benefitted from having the chance to check the meaning of words or phrases with someone who spoke his first language.

The result of our and Mr Elias' expert representation and thorough preparation throughout the case resulted in a Not Guilty verdict. Our client was extremely pleased with the result and was able to return home to his family, return to work and begin to put the case behind him.