I have been in continuous practice since being called to the Criminal Bar in 1990 and a member of Chambers since 1991. I am also a registered Pupil Supervisor. I have been a Grade 4 prosecutor and member of the Rape Panel for many years. Whether as leading counsel or alone, I specialize in cases involving vulnerable witnesses, including very young children and those facing mental and physical challenges. Also serious non-sexual violence, fraud, drugs, firearms, death by dangerous driving and cases of similar gravity. Increasingly, I find myself prosecuting against privately paid QCs.
Many cases I have conducted have made the front pages of national newspapers: The Sun: “Coked-up’ stockbroker accused of raping woman claims she only started crying because his penis was so large”; The Mirror (“‘TV actor sexually assaulted me to prove he was bisexual: Teenager collapses giving evidence in court”), the Evening Standard (”Gay ‘sexual predator’ tricked straight men into sex by pretending to be a woman named ‘Ana’ on Craigslist and Tinder”, “Bungle frees acid attacker”), The Daily Sport (“Saved by his curly wurly”), as well as the inside pages of lesser papers (e.g. “Woman paid man £20,000 not to rape her”, “Dyslexic postman dumped mail”).
Over the years, when not fighting for justice, I have also written about music for magazines such as MOJO, Uncut & Record Collector. I was also a founder member of late Brit Pop chart group Gay Dad. Obviously, this means that I am well-prepared for any cases involving a musical element. Notable clients have included the (then) managing director of Island Records and members of The Human League & Heaven 17 (both for minor traffic matters I hasten to add).
R v. Duarte Xavier (2018). Gay man tricked four straight men into blind-folded sexual activity by posing as a woman on internet dating apps.
R v. Toni Sontrop (2018). Rape within a relationship where both parties were Romanian, thus making an already complicated pre-trial disclosure exercise vastly more so due to the necessity of translation.
R v. Ahmad Sharafeldin (2017, 2018) Rape between a Saudi Arabian couple. Victim did not resile from her allegation, but refused to accept that she could be raped by her husband. Witness summonsed to court and he was convicted. Post-trial D’s family attempted to gather evidence that V had admitted she had lied. Appeal successfully opposed.
R v. khan, Mandrri & Doda (2017) Leading in a three-handed drugs conspiracy trial involving complicated cell site evidence.
R v. Barrie Butcher (2017) Wheelchair-bound Cerebral Palsy sufferer sexually assaulted by his carer. Required sensitive handling of a vulnerable witness with communication challenges. Convicted.
R v. Richard Hazell (2017). Defendant convicted of sexually assaulting four young children during sleep-overs with his own daughter. Involved from a very early stage and working to a tight time-table of ctls, I advised on building the case to incorporate new victims and took the trouble to meet parents who were reluctant to let their daughter give evidence (she did).
R v- Reginald Swinscoe (2017). D convicted of multiple historical rapes of his own stepdaughter and sexual assaults of two other teenage girls. I advised pre-charge and conducted the case all the way through to conviction and successfully resisted the appeal.
R v. Ismail & El-Meghraby (2013): Prosecuting husband and wife – Neurosurgeon and Hospital Registrar respectively – for holding their Egyptian domestic worker in servitude;
R v. X (2013): prosecuting former Eastenders’ actor for Rape of a fellow student at stage school.
R v. Michael Peacock (2012): Landmark prosecution for sado-masochistic homosexual material under the Obscene Publications Act.
R v. Jeba Marshall (2012): Priest accused of sexually assaulting an altar boy