The Defendant was accused of following the Complainant around a nightclub, whilst showing them unwanted attention. The pair were then seen leaving the club in the early hours of the morning and proceeded to a secluded spot, where the prosecution alleged the rape took place.

The Crown’s case relied heavily on CCTV from within the club and the surrounding town centre. It transpired early on in the trial that the Crown had not complied with their disclosure duty, as clearly there was further CCTV footage that met the disclosure criteria. As part of their case, the Crown relied upon two compilations of the CCTV, which effectively showed the ‘highlights’ of their case. However, as part of the defence case, the jury was shown the ‘larger picture’ in so far as the CCTV was concerned. As a result, the complainant was shown to be unreliable in respect of various parts of their evidence.

The jury returned a unanimous not guilty verdict following a three-week trial at Bournemouth Crown Court.