Sebastian Cox.
Sebastian has joined Crucible with an established and busy Crown Court practice, having represented clients in cases involving serious violence, fraud, organised crime, gangs, firearms, drugs, human trafficking, modern slavery and more. He is also instructed in cases which concern sexual offences and indecent images, with expertise in dealing with Sexual Risk Orders (SROs).
He has a particular interest in working with youth and vulnerable clients tried in connection with in county lines gangs and has also acted for youth defendants charged with serious child sex offences.
Sebastian has also been instructed in protest cases, including those involving high-profile climate protest groups, and is familiar with the complexities surrounding the defences often raised in those cases.
He acts as a junior and alone and is increasingly developing a practice as a led junior in serious and complex cases.
In addition to defending and prosecuting in general and serious crime, Sebastian has experience in representing clients in prosecutions relating to the licensing of HMOs and other Housing Act prosecutions concerning the private rental sector. Sebastian has represented professional clients and corporate clients in criminal proceedings in both England and Wales, including agents with a sizeable profile.
Outside of the courtroom, Sebastian has a flair for the dramatic and can often be found performing in amateur dramatics, theatre and filmmaking.
Sebastian acts on both a private and publicly funded basis.
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Notable cases:
R v B – Led by Clea Topolski KC in a large-scale drugs conspiracy case based on proactive and covert surveillance as well as hidden camera CCTV. Operation involved approximately 26kg of cocaine thought to be worth millions. The trial involved an unusual abuse of process argument after the catastrophic loss of huge quantities of covert footage by the police.
R v E – Led junior for defence in case concerning Operation Galway, an investigation into an Albanian gang operating multiple large cannabis factories and laundering the proceeds. When a rival gang attempted to break into one of the ‘factories’, an extremely violent altercation occurred in a residential area involving several individuals hospitalised with knife and gunshot injuries. Client was unanimously acquitted of cannabis cultivation conspiracy after trial.
R v H – Serious case involving several young men who travelled from Greater Manchester to Loughton armed with knives and pepper spray. The males attempted to force entry into a property and during a confrontation with the householders, pepper spray was discharged. The Solicitor General referred the case to the Court of Appeal citing a sentence of 9 years' imprisonment as unduly lenient. Sebastian successfully opposed any increase to the sentence on appeal.
R v M – Man seen by bystanders in changing room at public swimming pool to be masturbating in front of children in the showers. Unanimously acquitted of outraging public decency by jury after trial, after in-court deployment of a loofah and trunks to confirm the innocent nature of his acts.
R v G – Led junior in a complex case of perverting the course of justice by way of forged/fraudulent court orders in the civil courts.
R v O – Care home worker accused of ill-treatment of an elderly dementia patient within a care home setting. After cross-examination of ‘whistleblower’ eyewitness staff member, client acquitted by the jury after just 40 minutes.
R v P – NHS health care assistant accused by nursing staff of assaulting a vulnerable dementia patient whilst working on the ward. Acquitted at half-time.
R v E – Conspiracy to burgle/handling stolen goods – Young defendant accused of being involved in a spate of over 30 burglaries in which over £20,000 worth of items stolen. Acquitted after trial.
