Mr EK

Mr EK pleaded not guilty but was convicted of four counts of indecent assault at Wood Green Crown Court in June 1998. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.

He applied for leave to appeal in 2008 but leave was refused. He applied to the CCRC for a review of his conviction in June 2009.

Following a detailed investigation, the CCRC decided to refer Mr EK’s conviction to the Court of Appeal because it considered that new evidence gave rise to a real possibility that the court would quash the conviction.

The referral was based on new expert evidence, obtained by the CCRC, to the effect that the medical understanding of the signs of sexual abuse had developed since conviction in such a way as to cast significant doubt on the medical evidence presented by the prosecution at trial.

New research showed that many of the physical signs which were at one time viewed by many medical practitioners as indicative or supportive of sexual abuse were now considered to be neutral. New guidelines therefore advocated a more cautious approach to medical examination and diagnosis of sexual abuse from physical markers.

The CCRC referred the conviction in June 2014.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in June 2015.