00:00Are you able to tell us a little bit more about this case and the charges brought against the
00:04defendant? Yes, this was a particularly complex and sensitive case involving three young child
00:10victims. They gave accounts that they'd been targeted by a group of males who then subsequently
00:16groomed and sexually exploited them, providing them with alcohol and also drugs. Due to the
00:24number of defendants and the number of victims, this led to a high number of charges in this
00:29particular case. You talked about the fact that the case was a complex case. Are you able to tell us
00:37how complex it was in terms of, you know, gathering all this evidence, identifying the victims,
00:43identifying the defendants? A significant issue in this case was to obtain the full account from the
00:51young victims. It was really important for us to hear what had taken place, but also what had led
00:56to that activity, in particular due to the grooming of them and the sexual exploitation. And securing
01:04that information without having to re-interview and obtain multiple accounts from the victims was
01:09particularly important. There was also forensic evidence in the case and text messages which also
01:15assisted us to present the case before the court. How complex is it for you to get all of this
01:21evidence, to review all of, you talked about text messages, you talked about forensic evidence, how
01:28complicated is it to make sure that you've got all the evidence that you need? Where do you draw the
01:33line?
01:34Where do you stop trying to gather all this evidence? The importance with cases of this nature, which are
01:39particularly complex, is to work with the police early on during the case and during the investigative
01:44process. The Crumb Prosecution Service are able to assist the police regarding lines of inquiry that
01:51they should follow. And therefore, I think the key is to work with the police early in order to build
01:56a
01:56strong case to present before the court. The offences took place in numerous locations.
02:03How long did it take to identify all of the offences when you're talking about offences taking place
02:10in so many different places? The information regarding where the offending took place was
02:17obtained from the victims themselves. They were able to explain what the incidents were, where they had
02:23taken place, and therefore just listening to those accounts is how we were able to build a picture
02:28of the nature of the offences and where they had taken place. The key evidence in this case was the
02:35accounts given by the three child victims in this case. And without their evidence, the Crumb Prosecution
02:42Service would not have been able to bring this case to court and to bring the offenders to justice.
02:48Therefore, it's really important for us to acknowledge the strength and the bravery of these young victims
02:54victims to provide the account to the police and also to provide evidence at court.
