Scarlett Watkins’ youth client acquitted of kidnap and robbery.

Scarlett Watkins represented a 16 year old defendant who was acquitted of kidnap and robbery following a two day trial at Bromley Youth Court. She was instructed and assisted by Tai-ann Fadayomi of Banks and Partners.

It was alleged that the defendant and a co-defendant detained the complainant for over an hour, taking him to several locations to withdraw money. The prosecution relied on identification evidence, including CCTV footage and an ID parade conducted several months after the alleged offence.

During the trial, Scarlett challenged the reliability of the investigation and the quality of the identification evidence. The complainant’s description of the suspects’ ethnicities and features changed over time, and there were substantial delays before key investigative steps were taken.

Through careful cross-examination of the officer in the case, Scarlett exposed a catalogue of failures in the investigation — including the failure to conduct a full CCTV trawl and to obtain footage from key locations. The officer did not take a statement from the complainant until three months after the offence. He was also questioned carefully about the certainty of his identification of the defendants despite inconsistencies between his view and the complainant’s initial description. The questioning highlighted potential investigative bias while avoiding the introduction of any bad character evidence, ensuring the focus remained on the reliability of the investigation and the identification process.

Notwithstanding the evidence of the complainant, the judge found that she could not be sure of the identification evidence, noting the investigative failures. Both defendants were acquitted.