We represented a vulnerable child of previous good character who had been charged with an offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Our client was only 14 years old at the time of the incident.
The incident
Our client was one of two young people who ran through ticket barriers at a train station, passing revenue protection officers without stopping. An off duty police officer witnessed this and immediately placed our client in a ‘bear hug’ to stop them from leaving. Our client repeatedly asked what he was doing and told him to get off. Despite this, the complainant failed to inform them that he was an off duty police officer. Our client bit the complainant and punched him repeatedly.
The CPS decision
We made oral representations to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. However, they maintained that they would still proceed with the prosecution against our client. They argued that any member of the public would have acted in the same way as the complainant. They described our client's response as an 'outpour of violence'.
We obtained evidence confirming our client’s vulnerabilities and showing how the complainant’s actions impacted their reaction. Following receipt of this evidence, we sent detailed written representations to the CPS. We invited them to consider the complainant’s actions in the context of our client’s vulnerabilities. We also referenced the wider issue of violence against women and girls. We argued that the Crown would be unable to disprove that our client acted in reasonable self-defence. Therefore, there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.
The outcome
After considering our representations, the CPS discontinued the case against our client on evidential grounds. Our client remained a young person of previous good character.
Our client was represented by Sabrina Neves, a Solicitor in our Specialist Youth Crime Team. Sabrina was greatly assisted by Eimear Carroll, a Paralegal in our Croydon Crime Team.
