Sophie Evans’ Client Acquitted of Two Counts of Rape

Following a four day jury trial in the Supreme Court of the Falkland Islands, Sophie Evans’s client was acquitted of two counts of rape.

The defendant was accused of having sexual intercourse with his then partner without her consent on two occasions in 2021 and in 2023. 

The trial involved sensitive cross-examination of a vulnerable complainant. It also involved legal arguments regarding the admissibility of evidence about previous sexual behaviour, about non-defendant bad character and about hearsay evidence.  The defendant required the services of an interpreter throughout the trial.

The alleged offences took place in Goose Green, but the trial was heard in Stanley, the capital city of the Falkland Islands.

The Falkland Islands are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom, located in the South Atlantic Ocean at the tip of South America.  The population of the islands is approximately 2,500 people.

Jury trials are relatively infrequent in the Falkland Islands, and juries are comprised of seven members of the public. 

Sophie was instructed by Phil Axon of Thompson & Cooke Solicitors, and by Mark Neves of Falklands Legal.