Although a judge in a rape trial had not specifically directed the jury that evidence given by witnesses of what the complainant had told them after the incident was not independent evidence of the acts complained of, there had, in the circumstances, been no real risk of the jury assuming that it was.
The judge’s summing up had devalued the importance of the effect of the delay between the offences and trial. In the particular circumstances of the case a direction should have been given, warning the jury of convicting the appellant of sexual offences without independent supporting evidence.
A judge had exercised his discretion fairly under s.41 Youth and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 by ruling as admissible certain evidence about sexual abuse on complainant children by persons other than their parents against whom criminal proceedings had been brought.
