Mr BK

Mr BK was convicted in October 1999 of indecent assault and received a sentence of three years’ imprisonment (increased to five years’ imprisonment following a reference by the Attorney General to the Court of Appeal).

The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in October 2002.

During review, the CCRC considered a body of significant new evidence which gave rise to doubt that the complainant was the victim of an assault.

The complainant had previous convictions for dishonesty and had made other allegations, including allegations of sexual assault, to the police which, when investigated, were considered to be false.

There was also new evidence of the complainant’s demonstrable propensity to lie.

New material obtained by the CCRC, including the complainant’s medical and psychiatric history, indicated that her evidence may not have been credible or reliable.

In addition, the CCRC concluded that the Crown had failed to disclose to the defence evidence which could have undermined the prosecution case.

The CCRC referred the conviction in February 2006.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in September 2006.