David Williams, instructed by Lisa Towell at Blackfords LLP, secured the acquittal of an exploited young adult charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs before the Crown Court in Bournemouth. In one of few contested cases to have come before that Court considering the defence in Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act, the jury delivered unanimous not guilty verdicts in less than 90 minutes. Perhaps more unusually, there was no involvement of the National Referral Mechanism as consent had not been provided by the young adult. Calling evidence from London social services records, as well as the young man himself, it was established he had been the victim of relevant exploitation.
David has considerable experience in representing vulnerable adults and children who may be the victims of modern slavery and has delivered training on the operation of the statutory defence.
