Sarah Forshaw KC leading Valeria Swift and instructed by Nick Vamos of Peters & Peters, represented this young man from a wealthy and prominent overseas family, who was found not guilty of all charges against him following a two-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in February 2023.
Accusations made by his former girlfriend had resulted in a six-count indictment, including allegations of sexual assault, false imprisonment and rape. He was released under investigation shortly after his arrest, and was granted bail to return to and remain in his home country until the trial. Peters & Peters obtained permission for him to attend all pre-trial hearings remotely. The allegations date back to 2018. Trial was originally scheduled for early 2022, but was adjourned owing to prosecution disclosure failures. The failures continued up to and during trial, with a number of disclosure hearings taking place, and significant items of disclosure provided only on the day the case was opened to the jury.
Following the two-week trial, during which the client gave evidence, the jury returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on all charges after less than three hours’ deliberation.
