Contact number: 01642 247656
Email: sturner@watsonwoodhouse.co.uk
Areas of Law:
- Sexual Offences
- Financial Crime and other offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Since 1995, I have worked at Watson Woodhouse primarily in the Criminal Law Department. In 2002, I was admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.
I am a specialist in defending people accused of financial crime which has led to me frequently defending Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings (including applications by the prosecution under S.22 of POCA to recalculate previous orders), throughout various jurisdictions. I have extensive expertise in complex POCA proceedings. To achieve good and measurable results through the application of law and accounting principles, I work with a great number of barristers throughout the country.
Hiring a defence lawyer is something nobody enjoys having to do, so I pride myself on being approachable and available to my clients when they need me. I am at ease in dealing with cases of a sensitive nature including historical sexual offences which is my other direct area of expertise. The law places tight restrictions on the sort of questions that a defendant in these proceedings can put and it is my job to challenge and work around these rules to ensure the jury are fully aware of the true circumstances surrounding the making of such an allegation.
There are occasions when clients I have represented will be contacted by the Disclosure and Barring Service with a view to including their name on the register for those barred from working with children or vulnerable adults. These Applications can be defended. Such ‘Minded to Bar’ applications can be made subject of representations from a lawyer to explain to the DBS that inclusion on the Children and Adults Barred Lists would be inappropriate.
Notable Cases:
R v W 2023 – York Crown Court – successfully defended a client accused of having sex with a person who lacked the mental capacity to consent.
R v W 2022 – Teesside Crown Court – successfully defended a client accused of possessing firearms ammunition.
R v P 2021 – Teesside Crown Court – secured a suspended sentence for a client accused of a serious sexual assault on a young child.
R v C 2019 – Teesside Crown Court – defeated an application by the prosecution under s22 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to recalculate the available amount from a previous Confiscation Order.
