Justin Yang’s client acquitted of armed robbery and sexual assault at a London brothel.

Justin’s client was accused of attending an AirBnB flat in South London being used as a brothel. It was alleged that he and two other males had arrived around 01:30am under the pretence of acquiring sexual services. At the brothel, Justin's client was said to have used two knives to rob the working girls inside. During this alleged robbery, he was also said to have sexually assaulted one of the women. Within the sentencing guidelines these offences would have attracted a starting point of 8 years’ imprisonment.

Following a 999 call, Justin's client was arrested outside the flat by armed police. He had over £1000 in cash in his possession, as well as multiple phones, a butter knife, Class A and B drugs, and the identity documents of the working girls.

At trial, Justin advanced his client’s account that he had attended the brothel by appointment after a night out with his friends. He had taken his clothes off during sex, which were discarded near the bedroom door. He gave evidence that he lost sight of his clothes due to changing positions. He said that the cash inside his clothes was stolen from him by the handler / security guard of the brothel. Post-sex clarity led to a Justin's client realising what had happened, and there was then a physical altercation where he seized the escort’s phone and identity documents as collateral until he received his money back. In the escalating tension, the handler / security guard had produced a kitchen knife to scare Justin’s client, at which point Justin’s client grabbed a nearby butter knife to defend himself. While Justin’s client said the handler / security guard did eventually give his money back, the client refused in anger to return the items that he took as collateral.

Through meticulous cross-examinations of the working girl and the handler / security guard who had attended court to give evidence, Justin was able to undermine their accounts and overall credibility. He also criticised the severe gaps in the police investigation, which he submitted prevented the jury from being sure of the Crown’s case.

After a 9 day trial at Inner London Crown Court, the jury unanimously acquitted his client of all counts on the indictment.

Justin was instructed by Phoebe Coleman at Sonn Macmillan Walker.