Client Not Guilty of Sexual Assault at Merthyr Tydfil

Case study summary

Our client was a family man accused of sexual assault at a party. The complainant was particularly difficult with certain requests for the trial and was not cooperative. We instructed a specialist barrister to present the case in court and secured a Not Guilty verdict.

Case study

Our client was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a joint stag and hen party in Wales. There was many people, both men and women, at the party drinking alcohol. Our client had travelled from his home in Scotland to attend the party and support his friends who were getting married.

He was invited to share a bed with the complainant and sexual contact was initiated by the complainant. However, the following morning, our client was astounded to find himself accused of sexually assaulting her whilst her sister slept in the same bed as them.

It quickly became apparent to us that the complainant had her own mental health problems and said she had been sexually assaulted prior to this night, by another man. That became a running theme in her allegations against our client and it was clear that she was driven by malice.

Our client provided a clear, logical explanation for what happened on the night. Our specialist sexual assault solicitors spoke to his family and friends, in particular his previous girlfriends who all vouched for him. We interrogated the complainant's medical records and previous reports of sexual assault and built a realistic defence simply based on the fact that there was a misunderstanding that night. There was no sexual assault.

We instructed a specialist barrister to present our case in court. The jury appreciated our honesty in that there clearly was a misunderstanding, but there was no assault. Our client was found Not Guilty by unanimous verdict, and on a Friday afternoon!

As a result, our client can return to his life, working for the family business and building a family with his partner. These allegations had put a huge burden on the family and business so it was delight to relay the verdict to them.