Client Not Guilty of Using Violence to Secure Entry

Case study summary

Our client faced malicious allegations by his former partner. We learnt that this was not the first time the complainant had lied to the police. Through careful cross-examination, we proved that she had also lied to further this case and our client was found Not Guilty.

Case study

We were contacted by our client following his attendance at a voluntary interview with Thames Valley Police. He was a man of good character who had been accused of stalking, control and coercion and using violence to secure entry. These allegations had been made by the woman he was due to marry just months earlier. Our client had not only lost his partner but she ensured he also lost his employment. Feeling as though he had nothing left, he reached out to us and asked us to help him share the truth.

After spending hours in conference, and trawling through phone material, it was clear that our client was the one who had been subject to controlling and coercive behaviour. He had distanced himself from friends, family and even his own daughter in an effort to make his soon-to-be wife happy. In return, she manipulated him and ultimately lied to the police.

Due to his former partner being in the public eye, we quickly learnt that this was not the first time she had lied about her partners to the police. There was a pattern of making serious and devastating false allegations without any thought on the impact. We were able to provide evidence of this which resulted in two of the three allegations being dropped. However, with an independent witness said to have seen our client using violence to enter his former partner's home, he was charged with the remaining offence of using violence to secure entry.

Our trial preparations focused on the investigation we had already conducted. This allowed us to present significant phone material which not only shed light on the complainant's behaviour towards our client but also showed that she had invited him to attend her property on the day in question. Through careful cross-examination of the independent witness, he admitted that at no point did he have any concern which required him to step in and help the complainant. He also accepted that did not see any violence at all.

When it came to the complainant and her son giving evidence, it was clear that they had planned it. Their stories exaggerated each other's and neither matched the evidence. By asking only one question, we were able to prove that they had been corroborating. From that moment on, it was clear to the court that this case was based on lies and after careful consideration, the District Judge found our client Not Guilty.

After almost a year of turmoil, our client was able to leave court that day not only as a free man but a man who sustained his good character and reputation. He now plans to rebuild his life and restore his name within the profession which the complainant tried so hard to destroy.