The defendant was convicted of indecent assault. He appealed, saying that the complainant at 3 and a half years old was too young to give reliable evidence.
Held: The appeal succeeded. There were defects in the recording of the circumstances surrounding the recorded interview, and her evidence could not properly be tested. There had been a delay of nine weeks before she was interviewed: ‘the plain fact is that where a case depends on the evidence of a very young child it is absolutely essential (a) that the ABE interview takes place very soon after the event and (b) that the trial (at which the child has to be cross-examined) takes place very soon thereafter.’ The judge was wrong to have rejected the submission of no case to answer.
Judges:
Scott Baker LJ, Ramsey J, Recorder of Cardiff
Citations:
[2006] EWCA Crim 03, Times 17-Jan-2006, [2006] 1 Cr App R 31, [2006] Crim LR 781
Links:
Statutes:
Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 27(2) 53(1)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v D CACD 2002
An ability was required on the part of the witness to understand questions and give answers to them that were understandable, in short, intelligibility. . .
Cited – Ali Sed v Regina CACD 27-May-2004
The appellant challenged his conviction for attempted rape of an elderly woman. Her evidence had been accepted in written form because she was unable to attend court.
Held: Before accepting such evidence the court had to establish that she . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Evidence
Updated: 06 July 2022; Ref: scu.237591