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Criminal law – Indecent assault. The defendant had been convicted of three offences of indecent assault contrary to s 15(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 and sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment on each count concurrent. The offences had taken place in the 1970s when the defendant was an Anglican priest and the complainant resident in a local authority care home. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, dismissed the defendant's appeal against conviction and held, amongst other things, that it had not been demonstrated to the judge that irredeemable prejudice had been done to the defendant's case as a result of missing contemporaneous records. The defendant's appeal against sentence was allowed and the sentence reduced to concurrent sentences of nine months' imprisonment. The court noted that the defendant's physical and mental health was steadily deteriorating.
Criminal law – Indecent assault. The defendant had been convicted of three offences of indecent assault contrary to s 15(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 and sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment on each count concurrent. The offences had taken place in the 1970s when the defendant was an Anglican priest and the complainant resident in a local authority care home. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, dismissed the defendant's appeal against conviction and held, amongst other things, that it had not been demonstrated to the judge that irredeemable prejudice had been done to the defendant's case as a result of missing contemporaneous records. The defendant's appeal against sentence was allowed and the sentence reduced to concurrent sentences of nine months' imprisonment. The court noted that the defendant's physical and mental health was steadily deteriorating.
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