England: Rape case collapses after photos police failed to submit emerge

Samson Makele, 28, was accused of raping a woman he met in 2016 at the Notting Hill Carnival.

However, at a pre-trial hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court yesterday, prosecutors offered no evidence after they found out detectives had not disclosed the photos.

Mr Makele and the woman, 35, took a taxi to his flat in Hackney where they had sex.

The woman stayed the night but visited the police the next day to report that she had been raped and that Mr Makele had stopped her from leaving the flat.

He was charged with rape.

His lawyers were told that apart from text messages, there was nothing of interest on his phone.

However, his own lawyers examined the phone and found images of the pair together in bed.

Mr Makele’s lawyer, Paris Theodorou, of Hodge Jones & Allen, said his client had endured “18 months of hell”.

He said: “Mr Makele doesn’t know whether failure to obtain the photographs by the police was an oversight or an act of sheer incompetence.

“Either way, his life has been intolerable and traumatic while he waited for the truth to emerge.

“It is clearly vital that criminal defence solicitors are tech savvy enough to conduct their own analysis in parallel to those undertaken by the police.

“Rape is one of the most serious crimes. An error in judgement or an inaccuracy in unveiling evidence, on either side, can cause irreparable damage. There is simply no room for error when an individual’s freedom is on the line.”

Mr Makele said: “I cannot sleep. I can’t go anywhere, even for a day.”

A CPS spokesperson said: “We received information from the defence on 5 January - material we were not previously aware of.

“The case was reviewed and it was concluded there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. We made the decision to offer no evidence and did so at a hearing today.”