Police Drop Case Against Client Accused of Assault

Case study summary

Our client admitted that he had attended the complainant's home, whilst wearing a balaclava, and assaulted him. He explained that he had been acting in self-defence after the complainant grabbed his throat. Our expert legal advice resulted in the police dropping the case.

Case study

Our client was a student who was accused of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The police stated that he entered another male's property wearing a balaclava and proceeded to punch him in the face before running away. The complainant received cuts and bruises to his head and the balaclava was left at the scene. The balaclava was forensically examined and our client was linked to it through his DNA.

Our client admitted the allegation. He explained that his friend had been missing for a few days and he believed that he was being groomed. He had heard from a mutual friend that the complainant may know where his friend was so he went to his address. When he arrived at the address, he asked the complainant about his friend but the complainant did not answer. The complainant then refused to allow our client to leave his apartment and grabbed his throat. To defend himself, our client grabbed the complainant, threw him off him and then ran away.

One of our expert assault solicitors provided their advice for the interview and, one-month later, the police confirmed that they would be taking no further action against our client. He was relieved with the outcome and returned to university with a clean criminal record.