The prosecutor appealed after dismissal of the charges against the defendant as duplicitous. A neighbour couple had accused him of harassment against either or both of them. The magistrates accepted the plea on the basis that there were no two actions alleged against both or either of the couple.
Held: The appeal succeeded. The use of the singular expression in section 1 was to be read to include the plural. It was quit epossible that though only one complainant might have been present on any occasion, the behaviour had nevertheless been aimed at both. It was not always necessary to have a separate charge of harassment in respect of each complainant where a course of conduct comprised of incidents involving more than one individual as the victim. The court decided that it would be appropriate to include more than one complainant in a prosecution where the complainants were members of a ‘close knit definable group’ and the conduct complained of was clearly aimed at all of them on each occasion, even though only one of them might have been present on each such occasion.
Judges:
Bell J
Citations:
Times 01-Nov-2000
Statutes:
Protection from Harassment Act 1997 1 2
Torts – Other, Crime
Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.452428
