The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred to the Court of Appeal the convictions for rape and indecent assault of Stuart Lees.
Mr Lees was convicted of rape and four counts of indecent assault on 12 July 2000 at Wolverhampton Crown Court. He received an 11-year sentence.
The prosecution contended that the offences related to several individuals all under the age of 18 and dating back to the 1980s and 1990s.
A Single Judge refused Mr Lees leave to appeal in March 2001. Mr Lees did not renew his application to the Full Court. Mr Lees applied to the Commission in November 2003.
After considering issues including new information relating to the rape offence, the Commission has decided to refer this conviction.
The Commission has not investigated the indecent assault convictions but is referring them under Section 9(4) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995, which allows the Commission to refer any other counts on an indictment alongside a conviction in which a decision to refer has been taken. This will ensure that the Court of Appeal is able to consider the full picture which arose at Mr Lees’s trial, as the different counts were linked to a degree.
The Commission is the independent public body set up by Parliament in 1997 to investigate possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to decide if they should be referred to the appeal courts.
Mr Lees represented by Maslen Merchant of Hadgkiss, Hughes and Beale, 83 Alcester Road, Moseley, Birmingham B13 8EB, Tel 0121 449 5050.
This press release was issued by Boris Worrall, Head of Communication, Criminal Cases Review Commission on 0121 633 1806 or 07947 355231.
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