Mr HJ

Mr HJ, then aged 16, pleaded guilty on 7 October 2014 at South East London Magistrates’ Court to possession of a bladed article in a public place, contrary to section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. He was sentenced to four months’ detention and training.  

Police saw him acting suspiciously in an area of London known for drug dealing. When officers approached him, he ran away and tried to dispose of a kitchen knife. 

He was arrested and, on legal advice, gave no comment in the police interview and pleaded guilty at the Magistrates’ Court. He applied to the CCRC for a review of the conviction in January 2022. There is normally no appeal available following a guilty plea, so the defendant was only able to pursue his innocence using the CCRC’s decision that there were exceptional circumstances to justify it. 

An investigation found that there was credible evidence available indicating that Mr HJ was a victim of trafficking who was exploited, as a child, to commit criminal offences.  

It was clear that in this case, which was prior to the modern slavery legislation, neither the prosecution nor the defence identified trafficking as a relevant issue. Had they done so, the prosecution may have decided that it was not in the public interest to prosecute Mr HJ or the defence may have argued that the court should stay the proceedings as a violation of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings 2005, and thus an abuse of process. 

The information and guidance available provided a real possibility that the Crown Court would conclude that the prosecution of Mr HJ was an abuse of process and that it would be unjust to allow his conviction to stand.