BACJGROUND: BBC: A BBC report by Nick Garnett and Claire Kendall
Each year, thousands of people in England and Wales are accused of crimes for which they are later acquitted. While their names may be cleared, they are often left emotionally and financially devastated – as Brian Buckle, who was wrongfully convicted of sexually abusing a child, discovered first-hand. “When I was put in the cell, I sat there all night and just cried and cried.” It was 2017 and Brian had just become a convicted sex offender, sentenced to serve 15 years in prison. A jury had found him guilty of 16 counts of historical child sex abuse. But another trial would later acquit Brian after fresh analysis found DNA evidence used against him at his original hearing was flawed. He spent five and a half years in prison before overturning his convictions at a cost to him and his family of hundreds of thousands of pounds. His accuser is entitled to lifetime anonymity."
https://false-allegations.org.uk/i-was-innocent-brian-buckle/
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Mr Buckle was first accused of the abuse in May 2015 and said his first reaction was ‘shock'. The 51-year-old at one point choked on his words, growing visibly upset. He said: 'I'll take this to the grave with me - me, my family. We'll never forget about this'. Speaking to The Telegraph, he explained the complainant's father had reported him and when police approached her she said 'whatever my father said is true'. He was alleged to have abused her three times a week for two years between 1993 and 1995, at a location he said he had proof he hadn’t set foot in for much of that period. He was later found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault, three of indecency and one of attempted rape in 2017 against a girl alleged to have been between eight and 10 years old at the time.Despite this Mr Buckle was put in a cell with a convicted rapist and was not allowed to call his wife for four weeks."
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The broadcaster reports 'life for Brian and his wife is harder' as a result of the costs and application rejection. Figures show 93 per cent of similar applications are rejected on average after the law was changed in 2014. The change meant if a victim of a miscarriage of justice in England and Wales wants to receive compensation, they must not only be cleared, but also demonstrate they are innocent. Mr Buckle's barrister, Stephen Vullo KC said this was in effect 'reversing the burden of proof'. Mr Vullo KC said: 'It's an almost impossibly high hurdle over which very few people can jump.' He also claimed the legislation change was designed so money would not be paid out."
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STORY: "I spent five years in prison after being accused of a horrific sex crime I didn't commit - only for a jury to clear me in 80 minutes. by Reporter Noor Quarashi, published by The Daily Mail, on March 29, 2025. (Noor Quarashi is a News Reporter for MailOnline. She joined in September 2024 and was previously the BBC Local Democracy Reporter for Oxfordshire at the Oxford Mail. She has degree in History from the University of Oxford. Her main interests include politics, culture and transport.")
GIST: "A man was wrongly accused of a series of sex crimes and locked away for five years before being forced to spend £500,000 to prove his innocence.
Brian Buckle would cry himself to sleep at night behind bars after being found guilty in 2017 of incident assault and attempted rape of a child more than 20 years earlier.
But the father consistently protested he had not committed the crimes, and his wife Elaine stuck by his side, with the couple spending hundreds of thousands of pounds in a bid to clear his name.
The result of the lengthy legal battle saw Mr Buckle released five years into his 33 year sentence after a jury found him not guilty of all charges in just 80 minutes following a re-trial in 2023.
Despite the verdict and the amount of money his family had to spend to obtain it, Mr Buckle says he has been told by the Ministry of Justice he won't receive any compensation - because it doesn't believe he has proved his innocence.
He says that the battle to get compensation is just another chapter in what has been a torturous decade.
Despite the miscarriage of justice, Mr Buckle has been told he will not be receiving compensation.
Getting emotional in an interview with the BBC, he said: 'I was in a single cell and I'd just go in there and keep myself to myself and cry and just look around the wall and look at the photos with my family.'Despite the miscarriage of justice, Mr Buckle has been told he will not be
The 51-year-old at this point choked on his words, growing visibly upset. He added: 'I'll take this to the grave with me - me, my family. We'll never forget about this.
'You can live a life but you can never forget.'
He also gave his reaction to first reading the news his bid for compensation had been refused.
Mr Buckle said: 'I started reading it and I was crying basically as soon as I read the bit where I don't meet the statutory test.'
While Mr Buckle's wife Elaine, 58, had remained convinced of his innocence, he began a 33-year combined prison sentence, to be served over 15 years.
Elaine set out to prove the innocence with the help of the couple's daughter, Georgia, 22, as well as Mr Buckle's mother, Jackie, 68, and his aunt, Daphne, 66.
Following his release, Mr Buckle had his bid for compensation refused by the Ministry of Justice nearly a year after he first submitted his application as his case was not considered to demonstrate 'beyond a reasonable doubt' that he did not commit the offences for which he was convicted.
This was despite Mr Buckle and his legal team having produced a detailed defence including new witnesses and fresh forensic evidence, at a three-week retrial in 2023. A unanimous 'not guilty' verdict was returned by the jury in just over an hour.
The assessor who ruled Mr. Buckle was not entitled to compensation had never spoken too him or his legal team.
Mr. Buckle said: "What do I need to do to prove that I am an innocent person?"
I've lost five years of my life, my job. My pension, People are absolutely gobsmacked when you tell them I've been been refused compensation.
The Ministry of Justice told the BBC it does acknowledge the 'grave impact of miscarriages of justice' and is 'committed to supporting individuals in rebuilding their lives'.
The broadcaster reports 'life for Brian and his wife is harder' as a result of the costs and application rejection.
Figures show 93 per cent of similar applications are rejected on average after the law was changed in 2014.
The change meant if a victim of a miscarriage of justice in England and Wales wants to receive compensation, they must not only be cleared, but also demonstrate they are innocent.
Mr Buckle's barrister, Stephen Vullo KC said this was in effect 'reversing the burden of proof'.
Mr Vullo KC said: 'It's an almost impossibly high hurdle over which very few people can jump.'
He also claimed the legislation change was designed so money would not be paid out.
Mr Buckle was first accused of the abuse in May 2015 and said his first reaction was ‘shock'.
The 51-year-old at one point choked on his words, growing visibly upset. He said: 'I'll take this to the grave with me - me, my family. We'll never forget about this'
Speaking to The Telegraph, he explained the complainant's father had reported him and when police approached her she said 'whatever my father said is true'.
He was alleged to have abused her three times a week for two years between 1993 and 1995, at a location he said he had proof he hadn’t set foot in for much of that period.
He was later found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault, three of indecency and one of attempted rape in 2017 against a girl alleged to have been between eight and 10 years old at the time.
Despite this Mr Buckle was put in a cell with a convicted rapist and was not allowed to call his wife for four weeks. "
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14514275/cried-sleep-five-years-prison-sexual-assault.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
———————————————————————————————
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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