A conviction for rape was not unsafe on the basis that the judge should have permitted cross-examination of the victim about the falsity of previous allegations of sexual abuse by other men. The fact that the victim had made but not pursued those allegations did not provide a proper evidential basis for showing the falsity of those complaints for the purposes of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 s.100.
ADMISSIBILITY CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2003 s.100(1)(b) CROSS-EXAMINATION LEAVE TO PERMIT CROSS-EXAMINATION OF WITNESS CONCERNING PREVIOUS ALLEGATIONS PREVIOUS STATEMENTS RAPE RELEVANCE OF VICTIM’S PREVIOUS ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT RELIABILITY s.100 s.42 s.42(1)(c) YOUTH JUSTICE AND CRIMINAL EVIDENCE ACT 1999 s.41
A medical expert’s opinion that a 15-year-old girl’s injury to her hymen was diagnostic of blunt force trauma from sexual penetration had not been materially inaccurate and had not misled the jury in the trial of the appellant for raping the girl.
CRIMINAL EVIDENCE FRESH EVIDENCE MEDICAL EVIDENCE MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS RAPE RELIABILITY RELIABILITY OF EXPERT MEDICAL EVIDENCE AT TRIAL
In the circumstances, the fact that a complainant had made an unfounded allegation of rape against an accused in a retrial did not cast doubt on the reliability of her evidence against him in an earlier trial so as to render unsafe his conviction for sexual assault in that earlier trial.
CREDIBILITY CRIMINAL EVIDENCE FRESH EVIDENCE RAPE RELIABILITY RELIABILITY OF COMPLAINANT’S EVIDENCE ON SEXUAL ASSAULT SAFETY OF CONVICTION SEXUAL ASSAULT
The judge had been wrong to direct the acquittal of two of the four defendants in a case involving an allegation of the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl; evidence of collusion between the complainant and a witness might be used to cast doubt on their reliability and truthfulness but it should not have been used as a reason for stopping the case.
ACQUITTALS COLLUSION CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE IDENTIFICATION RELIABILITY SEXUAL OFFENCES TERMINATING RULINGS WHETHER JUDGE CORRECT TO DIRECT ACQUITTAL OF TWO OF FOUR DEFENDANTS
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