Rape acquittal
Moss & Co instructed Mary Poku of Counsel to represent one of nine men found not guilty of conspiracy to rape a girl under 16 years of age as well as other charges of serious sexual assault. Detailed disclosure requests were made to the Crown, including a request for full details of all social media accounts of the alleged victim. After lengthy legal Argument the disclosure of a Twitter account held by the victim which undermined her statements to the polices led to the case being reviewed and no evidence offered as there was no realistic prospect of conviction. All nine defendants were acquitted and the dramatic conclusion of the case made front page headlines in national newspapers.
Note: Requests for disclosure of Social Media accounts are now a central element of many a successful Defence. Valuable material can be unearthed about the complainant and in this case the Tweets which had been made before the alleged offence were not consistent with the contents of the victims statements on which the Crown sought to rely.