Oliver Woolhouse and Joshua Purser were both respectively instructed to defend a man and a woman who, when a couple, were accused of serious sexual offences against a child. The case germinated from the National Crime Agency’s Operation Activation, designed to disrupt and prosecute child sexual abuse and exploitation online. Amidst the contact offences was an online enterprise which provided gratification for paedophiles through the provision of imagery and discussion of child abuse.
Oliver and Joshua were successful in resisting the appeal of Her Majesty’s Solicitor General that their clients’ respective sentences were unduly lenient pursuant to section 35 and 26 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
The appeal relating to both of their clients was dismissed and the sentence of the trial judge upheld.