Jury consider verdict in teen sex abuse trial

Wednesday 27 February 2019

Jury members in the Royal Court trial of a man accused of sexually abusing two teenage boys were this morning urged not to be swayed by their emotions by the defendant's lawyer, as they retired to consider their verdict.

Lee Albert Phoenix (42) has been accused of sexual assault by two men who say that he touched them "inappropriately" when they were younger – allegations he has always denied.

Mr Phoenix was originally charged with six counts of indecent assault that took place in a number of properties, but as no evidence was offered to support this count throughout proceedings, the Bailiff Sir William Bailhache, presiding, directed the jury to acquit Mr Phoenix of this charge.

The trial, which took place in the Royal Court throughout this week, has heard testimony from both alleged victims, who are now older, but say they didn't speak out earlier due to fear and embarrassment. 

Pictured: Both the alleged victims who accuse Mr Phoenix of sexually abusing them as teenagers testified before the Court.

Telling the jury of four women and eight men why he eventually brought allegations against Mr Phoenix, the first alleged victim said: “Now I’m older I realised that everything that did happen shouldn’t have happened… I didn’t want to use it as an excuse to do bad things in my life.”

The other man said he remembers “being touched up” by Mr Phoenix when he was younger, explaining that the alleged sexual assault made him feel “really uncomfortable".

However, the second alleged victim said that he didn’t tell anyone about it because he was “scared” and he “just wanted to black it out.”

During extensive cross-examination from Mr Phoenix’s lawyer, Advocate Mark Boothman, both alleged victims were accused of fabricating the allegations in order to pursue compensation claims. The two men strenuously denied inventing stories of sexual abuse against them.

Pictured: Both the alleged victims were accused of fabricating the allegations for monetary gain.

In his closing speech, Crown Advocate Julian Gollop, appearing for the prosecution, described each of the alleged victims as “believable and credible witnesses”, who put themselves through “the daunting experience” of testifying before the Court.

The Crown Advocate urged the jury that Mr Phoenix “had a sexual interest” in both of the alleged victims when they were teenagers and that he had “targeted” them when they were “of a similar age." 

Addressing the Defence Advocate’s argument that there were “inconsistencies” between the Police statements of the first alleged victim and his testimony in Court, the Crown Advocate said: “It’s a bit of a quandary, isn’t it? [That] things you want to forget are now the things you’re being asked to recall in as much detail as possible." 

The Crown Advocate asked the jury to reflect upon the “traumatic nature of these events,” remarking that “inconsistencies are not uncommon in a trial of this nature.” 

Advocate Boothman warned the jury against “jump[ing] to conclusions”, urging them not “to be too moved by natural emotional responses” when considering their verdict.

Pictured: Crown Advocate Julian Gollop (left) and Defence Advocate Mark Boothman (right) brought their cases to a close today.

The Defence Advocate made much of the “inconsistencies” in the first alleged victim’s version of events, questioning: “If [he] cannot be sure of what happened, then you cannot be sure.”

Elsewhere in his closing speech, Advocate Boothman suggested the two men were motivated by monetary gain in fabricating the allegations against his client, emphasising that the jury “cannot be sure of the integrity” of the two alleged victims and that his client “has not committed these offences".

The Bailiff then advised the jury on legal matters before summing up all the evidence heard throughout the three-day trial, leaving the jury with the question, “do you find the two complainants… credible in what they’ve said?" 

The jury then retired from the courtroom to consider their verdict. 

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