Victoria Taylor’s client acquitted of assault on a two year old child, strangulation and threatening with a knife.

Victoria represented a client who was alleged to have strangled his partner, held a knife to her throat, and assaulted their two year old son. It was alleged that the defendant had gone a violent rampage over Christmas, inflicting violence on both complainants. The defendant had pleaded guilty to criminal damage and assault occasioning actual bodily harm against his partner, but denied the other counts.

The evidence included injury photographs, medical records and an account from the police officer who attended the scene. Through careful cross-examination, Victoria cast doubt on the complainant’s credibility, due to her exaggeration of incidents and clear motive to have the defendant arrested.

Despite the defendant’s admissions of guilt in relation to other counts, Victoria convinced the jury that they could not be sure that he had strangled the complainant, threatened her with a knife, or assaulted their child. After a four-day trial at Croydon Crown Court, the jury acquitted Victoria’s client of all remaining counts on the indictment. The defendant was released, following sentence for the matters to which he pleaded guilty, after Victoria successfully invited the Judge to impose a sentence for which he was ‘time served’.

Victoria was instructed by Tahir Ali of Wainwright & Cummins LLP.