Man Accused of Historic Sexual Offences - Not Guilty

Case study summary

Our client had been charged with historic sexual abuse towards his daughter. Terrified of the implications such a conviction could have, he instructed our specialist lawyers. We were able to secure not guilty verdicts following a week-long trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.

Case study

Our client was a well-respected, working man, living in Gloucester with his wife. When his daughter made allegations regarding apparent sexual abuse that had occurred over 20 years previously, he was both shocked and terrified about what was going to happen next. He sought out our specialist sexual offence solicitors to represent him and attempt to clear his name.

We started by analysing the evidence in the case and, most notably, the statement provided by our client's daughter. We noticed a considerable amount of inconsistencies and it appeared that she was confused as to where and when these supposed incidents occurred. Our client completely denied the allegations and insisted that he had never acted inappropriately towards his daughter. She had, in fact, chosen to live with him after the period that she alleged these incidents had occurred and he explained that they had a very good relationship when she was growing up.

In order to ensure that we were fully prepared for trial, we requested disclosure of certain records from the prosecution. These records showed that our client's daughter had significant mental health problems and underwent counselling when she was a teenager. During these sessions, she discussed issues with her mother but failed to raise any issues with her father or mention any of these complaints. She also told the police that she had previously reported the incident but there was no record of this either.

In addition to our thorough preparation of the case, we instructed a specialist barrister to represent our client at trial. He was able to put these inconsistencies across during cross-examination and show the jury that what the complainant was saying simply did not make sense. After some deliberation, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all counts.

Our client was able to return to his community with his reputation still intact and with this issue long put behind him.