Mr AQ

Mr AQ was convicted in December 1999 of rape and indecent assault. Mr AQ received a sentence of ten years’ imprisonment and an extended supervision order.

The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in March 2001.

Mr AQ’s conviction had depended on the uncorroborated evidence of the complainant, who was aged 15 at the time of trial.

The complainant had only made her accusations after her younger brother and sister had made similar accusations.

During review, the CCRC obtained new evidence showing that the complainant had made two other separate allegations of rape against different men in the weeks leading up to Mr AQ’s trial.

Both of these new allegations were later retracted, in one case only after a conviction and in the other case after the commencement of a trial.

In both cases, the complainant stated that sexual intercourse had in fact been consensual.

The CCRC found information indicating that the Crown prosecution Service had been aware of the complainant’s allegations against the other two men at the time of Mr AQ’s trial.

However, there was no evidence this had been disclosed to Mr AQ’s defence.

The CCRC referred the conviction in January 2004 on the grounds that knowledge of this new information might have affected the jury’s assessment of the complainant’s reliability and the credibility of her testimony.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in August 2004.