Mr FW

Mr FW appeared at Norfolk Crown Court in September 2016 charged with five counts of sexual assault against the same person. He pleaded not guilty to all.

The jury acquitted him of the first two counts but convicted him of the remaining three. He was sentenced to four and a half years’ imprisonment.

Mr FW tried to appeal against his conviction but his application for leave to appeal was dismissed in February 2017. In June 2017 he applied to the CCRC for a review of his conviction.

Subsequent to Mr FW’s trial, Norfolk Police investigated the complainant for suspected perverting the course of justice. This was the result of a new witness approaching the police to state that the complainant had discussed Mr FW’s case in a way which contradicted her trial evidence.

The CCRC took the view that the new witness information potentially undermined the complainant’s credibility and that this gave rise to a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would find Mr FW’s conviction unsafe.

The CCRC referred the conviction in October 2018.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in January 2020.