Client Receives Caution for Assault

Case study summary

Our client was an air hostess. She admitted allegations of assault and theft after confronting her friend who had sex with her boyfriend. A criminal conviction could have resulted in our client losing her job. We avoided this outcome and the matter was resolved with a caution.

Case study

Our client was a 21-year-old who was accused of assaulting the complainant by punching her in the nose and breaking her glasses. She was invited to a voluntary interview and contacted our firm to ask for us to attend the interview with her because she had recently completed her training to become an air hostess and she was worried that a criminal conviction could result in her losing her job. She had also never been in trouble with the police before and did not know what to expect during the interview.

During the initial conference with our client, she explained that the complainant was her friend who had sexual intercourse with her boyfriend despite knowing that he and our client were in a relationship. Our client's friend and her boyfriend had then tried to lie to her about it for several weeks but she had finally uncovered the truth and she wanted an explanation from both parties.

Our client stated that she saw the complainant outside of their local sunbed centre so she approached her and asked her why she had slept with her boyfriend. The complainant replied by saying that she had no loyalties to our client and tried to drive away. Our client reached into the complainant's car in an attempt to turn the engine off so that her friend would have to continue with their conversation. The complainant grabbed hold of our client's arm and, in response, our client shook her arm to try and release the complainant's grip. In doing so, our client hit the complainant in the face which broke her glasses and caused her nose to bleed. She denied intentionally punching the complainant but she accepted that she had been reckless by reaching into the complainant's car.

We represented our client at her first police interview and provided our advice. Following the interview, the police wanted to charge our client with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and theft. Their decision was heavily influenced by the fact that the complainant wanted to pursue the matter and she did not want to consider resolving the matter with an out-of-court disposal. We did not think that charging our client with these offences was a suitable outcome. We asked the police to obtain further medical evidence to confirm whether the injury did constitute a charge of actual bodily harm or it could be considered to fall under the lesser offence of common assault.

Whilst we awaited the medical evidence, one of our expert criminal defence lawyers liaised with the police officer in charge of the case in order to persuade them that, despite the complainant's views, the best outcome for all parties would be to resolve the matter with an out-of-court disposal, such as a caution. A criminal conviction could have ruined our young client's career which she had only just begun.

Once the police had obtained further medical evidence, we were invited to a second interview. The officer confirmed that the injury was not as serious as they originally thought. The complainant's nose had healed and the allegation was reduced to common assault. The officer also agreed that a caution would be a suitable way to resolve the matter.

Our client was relieved with this outcome and she looked forward to her future as an air hostess.