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Man found not guilty of rape in case involving intoxication and lack of consciousness

Laura Stockdale represented a man charged with raping the complainant whilst she was asleep. The Crown case was that the complainant had consensual sex with the defendant before falling asleep and later awoke to him raping her. This was denied by the defendant.  Following a five-day trial at Kingston Crown Court prosecuted by a King’s Counsel, the defendant was acquitted by a jury. The defence case was evidentially complex, involving review of hundreds of messages on the complainant’s phone relevant to her intoxication from cannabis at the time of the incident, and her lack of certainty in the immediate aftermath that the defendant had raped her. The case also involved a complex area of law, including consideration of evidential presumptions under section 75 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Laura Stockdale was instructed by Raj Veja of Veja & Co. Solicitors.