James Reith

James Reith was convicted of rape and indecent assault. He was accused of forcing the victim to the floor, applying handcuffs to her, raping her, forcing her to perform oral sex, and raping her again. Afterwards, she called her friend from the bathoom. Reith argued all sexual activity had been consensual and that injuries the vicitm had were not consistent with her complaints. On appeal, it was found that attempts should have been made to contact the victim’s friend who the victim had called after the incident. She had provided a key written statement, but was not tracked or pursued as a defence witness. There were irregularities in her evidence and cross-examination would have been useful. It was found that either the defence should have tried harder to pursue the witness or her statement should have been excluded. As a result, the conviction was unsafe.

View Press (innocent.org.uk)