A teenage victim of human trafficking has had her conviction overturned today.

The child had been tricked by a family friend into accompanying him to England where she was exploited and forced to have sex with men who beat her. After fleeing this dangerous situation, she bumped into another man who offered her a place to stay in Teesside, where criminals were growing cannabis, when police raided the house and found her.

The victim was given a custodial sentence and only after serving that time was she able to convince the CPS of her actual age – she was just 16 at the time of sentencing not 19 as the authorities stated. The CPS subsequently supported her appeal to have her conviction overturned.

The Home Office has since assessed her case and is now convinced she was a child victim of human trafficking.

CARE Chief Executive Nola Leach

“Whilst we welcome the CPS’s decision to overturn the wrongful conviction there are clear lessons that can be learnt from this case.

Police and prosecutors need to be aware of the potential that people – especially young people – found cultivating cannabis could be victims of human trafficking. Many children are trafficked exactly for this purpose.

It’s vital that police and prosecutors are trained up to be able to identify potential victims of human trafficking and consider not prosecuting them for crimes they have committed under the influence of their exploiter. We must ensure victims are spared any further trauma and are offered protections and support at every stage of the criminal process, as well given access to support services to enable them to recover from their horrific ordeals.

This case clearly highlights how vigilant police and prosecutors need to be to ensure that miscarriages of justice like this do not happen in our society."

Ends

Notes to the editor:

For more on the story please click here

CARE campaigned for anti-slavery legislation across England and Wales and worked hard to see improvements to the UK government’s modern slavery legislation.

CARE previously welcomed the commencement of new powers to tackle slavery in England and Wales under the Modern Slavery Act:

CARE continues to advocate for better protections for victims of human trafficking: here and here