Rebecca Lee

Cases

Criminal Defence

• R v S (2019) – Successful defence of a young man of good character accused of sexually assaulting a police officer.
• R v P (2019) – Led junior in a multiple complainant child sexual assault trial, involving allegations dating from 2003 to 2018.
• R v M (2019) – Successful application to stay an historic allegation of indecent assault on a child where no evidence or material of any kind remained in respect of the original investigation conducted 34 years earlier.
• R v O (2019) – Resisted a prosecution application to adduce as hearsay body worn footage which recorded a complaint by the alleged victim of assault (contrary to s.18 OAPA 1861) who never provided a statement. The Prosecution offered no evidence.
• R v D (2019) – Represented a man of previous good character who was charged with wounding with intent with a knife in respect of his wife; psychiatric evidence allowed the Crown to accept a guilty plea to the lesser offence of wounding, and a suspended sentence was imposed.
• R v M (2018) – Three week trial of historic indecent assaults on three children, alleged for the first time in 2016, the allegations being made against the defendant by his nieces.
• R v W (2018) – Trial of an allegation of rape of the defendant’s stepdaughter.
• R v B (2018) – Represented 19 y.o. defendant charged with sexual activity with a child while overseas; as defendant was not a UK national there were jurisdictional issues to consider. Following a guilty plea, defendant was sentenced to a suspended sentence order. The sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General who suggested it was unduly lenient; the Court of Appeal did not agree and upheld the sentence imposed.
• R v M (2017)– A trial on charges of rape and other sexual offences where there were two adult defendants and three young complainants
• R v D (2017)– A rape trial where the defence was a denial of intercourse despite compelling DNA evidence.
• R v D (2017) – Led junior in a four-handed £2million conspiracy to defraud trial at Reading Crown Court.
• R v G (2016) – Trial of a case of ‘stranger’ rape of 18 year old woman in the street in the early hours of the morning.
• R v M (2016) – Represented a child in the youth court facing three charges of sexual activity with a child. The allegations were contested at trial, where the young age of both witnesses and defendant required considerable sensitivity.
• R v D (2016)– Led junior in an eight handed trial at Nottingham Crown Court where child sexual exploitation was alleged against more than twenty defendants in total (there were to be two subsequent trials). Indictment included counts of rape and conspiracy to rape. There were major issues of disclosure which contributed to the Judge deciding to stop the case at half time.
• R v I (2015)– Allegation of rape where the defendant disputed identification; the Crown eventually offered no evidence as a result of extensive work by the defence to highlight the extent of the evidence that pointed away from the suspect’s guilt.
• R v H (2015)– Led junior in a four handed conspiracy to import 100 kilos of cocaine hidden in plastic bananas.
• R v A (2014)– Led junior in a case involving allegation of kidnap, wounding with intent and blackmail.
• R v M (2013) – Conspiracy to supply five kilos of cocaine
• R v M (2013)– Attempted rape, where the Crown offered no evidence shortly before trial following defence representations as to the reliability of the evidence upon which the case was founded.
• R v S (2013)– Led junior in conspiracy to kidnap, falsely imprison & blackmail (16 week trial).
• R v W (2012) – Possession and Possession with intent to supply Class A drugs where the defence involved allegation that drugs were planted by police and, on a second count, duress.
• R v D (2012) – S.18 alleged against father and two sons, all of good character, instructed for 17 year old son.
• R v D (2012) – Conspiracy to rob (cash in transit); involved issues of autrefois convict and abuse.
• R v D (2011) – Cash in transit robbery alleged against a 17 year old boy.
• R v D (2011) – Led junior in a multi handed conspiracy to rob involving firearms, following a lengthy Flying Squad surveillance operation. Major issues regarding disclosure resulted eventually in the Crown offering no evidence after several weeks of legal argument.
• R v D (2011) – 16 year old defendant charged with cash in transit robbery where the defence was duress.
• R v D (2011)– Trial of sexual activity with children charged against an 86 year old man with a long history of sexual offending and mental health problems.
• R v D (2009) – Led junior in a historic case of alleged rape and child sexual abuse relating to eleven complainants on a 60 count indictment; this included a number of counts relating to indecent images of children.
• R v D (2009)– Perverting the course of justice (false allegation of rape).

Reported case

R v Clancy 2012 2 Cr.App.R. 7, CA

Successful appeal against conviction where the Court of Appeal agreed that the conviction of the defendant was unsafe where the trial judge had directed the jury to disregard the defendant’s state of mind in determining whether she had a good reason for being in possession of a knife. The appeal was allowed and the conviction quashed.

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2012/8.html

Criminal Prosecution

Rebecca is a grade 2 CPS prosecutor. She has experience of prosecuting allegations of burglary, robbery, fraud, assault/ABH, public order matters, weapons offences and less serious sexual offences.  Though Rebecca’s prosecution practice is less extensive than her defence work, she approaches her cases with determination and thoroughness and she is keen to extend her prosecution practice.

She also has experience working for the Serious Fraud Office advising on LPP and disclosure

Professional Discipline

Rebecca has acted for the NMC and for practitioners appearing in fully contested proceedings before the NMC and the GDC.