Summary
Our client was facing several allegations concerning coercive control and abuse towards her husband and her children, which our client completely denied. After extensive pre-charge representations were made to the police by Partner Massimo Trebar, our client’s matter was refused charge and resulted in no further action.
Details of the Case
Our client and the complainant were married for over ten years and had two children together. The allegations came to light while the two were undergoing divorce proceedings.
The complainant stated that he had been the subject of abuse from our client throughout the entirety of their marriage, both in the form of physical abuse and coercive controlling behaviour. This abuse was alleged to have also extended to their children, where the complainant claimed that our client verbally abused them on several occasions.
When interviewed by the police, our client completely denied the allegations and maintained that she had in fact been the victim of years of abuse and controlling behaviour from her husband. Our client stated that the allegations were completely fabricated and had only surfaced in light of the family court proceedings for malicious reasons.
Our Defence
Partner Massimo Trebar took on our client’s matter following her police interview, where he was instructed on a privately funded basis to carry out pre-charge representations. If the matter were to proceed to Court, our client would be at risk of a prison sentence of up to 2 years 6 months for charges of coercive controlling behaviour and assault.
As our client and the complainant were also undergoing divorce proceedings, given the domestic nature of the allegations and the allegations relating to their children, a conviction would also significantly restrict our client’s contact with her children.
Massimo made extensive pre-charge representations on behalf of our client, including five separate letters of representation to both the Police and to the CPS and also prepared a 21-page witness statement to corroborate our client’s defence.
As part of these representations, Massimo clearly outlined the repeated incidents of historical abuse and controlling behaviour of which our client had been the victim. In doing so, he was also able to counter the allegations made by the complainant and highlight that they had been fabricated for malicious intent.
No Further Action
Following her police interview, our client was placed on conditional bail for over a year, during which she had restricted contact with her children. This was an extremely distressing time for our client where Massimo made sure to provide her with frequent support and guidance.
Thankfully, due to the volume and the strength of the representations Massimo made to the police, we were informed that our client’s matter had been refused charge by the CPS and therefore there would be no further action.
Our client was extremely relieved with this outcome and so grateful to Massimo for his diligence and expertise in helping to secure this outcome. Without Massimo’s intervention at such a critical time during the police’s investigation, it’s very likely our client’s matter would have proceeded to court and she would have been at risk of conviction. This case is a testament to the importance of instructing specialised experts in pre-charge engagement to ensure you are met with the best possible outcome for your case.
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