Director Accused of Sexual Assault - Case Closed

Case study summary

Our client was accused of attempting to kiss a violinist at a party. He denied the allegation. We provided our expert legal advice during the police interview and the investigation was closed before we left the police station.

Case study

Our client was the director of a company. In December 2021, he held a Christmas party for his friends and hired a violinist. In October 2022, he was informed that this individual had made an allegation of sexual assault against him. The violinist said that our client grabbed her arms, dragged her into a room and attempted to kiss her multiple times. She had provided a statement to support this.

Our client contacted us because he wanted the investigation to be closed as soon as possible. His partner was pregnant and he wanted to prevent the police from contacting her and other members of his family because it would cause them unnecessary stress. Our client also feared the damaging effect that a false allegation such as this could have on his reputation because he was someone who had never been in trouble with the police before.

Prior to the interview, we obtained pre-interview disclosure from the police as well as instructions from our client who denied the allegation. He explained that the violinist wanted a larger tip than he had given to her and believed that she was now making this allegation out of spite. Our proactive approach to preparing for the interview meant that we were able to review the case with our client outside of the stressful and pressurised setting of a police station.

At the police station, one of our expert sexual assault lawyers challenged the complainant's account. In particular, we queried whether there was any supporting evidence as well as why the police were investigating the matter ten months after the alleged incident. We then provided our advice for the interview and immediately after the interview, the police officer confirmed that he would be taking no further action against our client.

Our client was relieved and looked forward to welcoming his newborn child into the world without the stress of a sexual assault allegation hanging over him.