Our Stella Harris of the Garden Court Criminal Defence Team acted for the appellant, instructed by Javed Chughtai, Partner at EBR Attridge.
KD (2020) EWCA Crim. 1589 involved the kidnap of a male from the street who was detained and caused grievous bodily harm by a group; the offences were committed in the context of gang activity in Islington. KD, then 15, received a lengthy extended sentence for public protection.
Following his sentence, KD made excellent progress in detention and his unmet psychological needs and trauma were identified. The Youth Offending Service and Social Services referred his case via the National Referral Mechanism to the Serious Crime Agency and he was found to be a victim of exploitation.
This positive finding and his progress enabled a renewed application for leave to the Court of Appeal to appeal against sentence. Leave was granted and KD’s application was successful and the extended sentence was quashed. He will now receive resettlement support.
