DM v R
[2024] EWCA Crim 1187
R v Adam Courtney-Kasher
16 February 2024
[2024] EWCA Crim 256
Court of Appeal
A man was convicted of sexually abusing a child. He appealed, claiming the police didn't do a good enough job investigating and that some evidence was inconsistent. The court said the jury heard all this and decided he was guilty, so his conviction stands.
Key Facts
- •Adam Courtney-Kasher (applicant, aged 40) convicted of six counts of indecency with a child and three counts of rape.
- •Offences alleged to have occurred between April 1997 and August 1999.
- •Complainant reported abuse in September 2020, detailing oral sex and anal rape.
- •Applicant denied knowing the complainant.
- •Prosecution relied on complainant's testimony, disclosure to a friend, mother's testimony, and a childhood friend's testimony.
- •Defence was denial.
- •Applicant appealed against sentence (successful partial reduction), then renewed application for leave to appeal conviction.
- •Late disclosure of messages naming the applicant and information about unsuccessful attempts to interview neighbours.
- •Applicant raised new grounds of appeal focusing on inconsistencies in evidence and insufficient police investigation.
Legal Principles
Reporting restrictions under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 apply to prevent identification of victims.
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992
The prosecution has a duty to explore all reasonable lines of investigation.
Case law (implied)
Outcomes
Leave to appeal conviction refused.
Original grounds of appeal (late disclosure) not reasonably arguable; new grounds based on inconsistencies and insufficient investigation were matters for the jury and did not render the conviction unsafe.
Leave to amend notice of appeal refused.
Proposed additional grounds lack merit and have no prospect of success.
Extension of time to amend appeal refused.
No merit to the proposed additional grounds.