RSS Feed
February 7th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
By
Gavin Allen
Last updated at 2:15 PM on 7th February 2012
A teenage victim of sex assault hanged herself because she could not face the agony of a second trial after her barrister broke strict legal rules and caused the first court case to collapse.
Dana Baker, who was 16 when she died, hanged herself near a busy roundabout in Kidderminster, Worcestershire last March.
She was awaiting the retrial of karate instructor Jaspal Riat, 48, who had repeatedly assaulted her since the age of 13.
Tragic case: Dana Baker was 16 when she hanged herself waiting for her abuser to be retried
She had made a final cry for help on Facebook in the hours before she committed suicide, pleading: ‘Lying here, trying to figure out what the hell I’m gonna do.’
Now it has emerged that the first trial was dramatically halted after the prosecutor David Jones – who was also a part-time judge – held a meeting with Miss Baker over lunch at his home, which broke the rules on witness contact.
The barrister with No5 Chambers in Birmingham resigned from the Bar soon afterwards.
Riat, 48, was jailed for eight years at the retrial in September at Gloucester Crown Court but justice came too late for Dana, who was a gifted student.
Jurors heard how the abuser from Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, tied up and had sex with Dana when she was 13 and 14.
Jailed: Jaspal Riat, 48, was sentenced to eight years at the subsequent retrial
Riat ran the KoshinRyu Academy of Martial Arts in Birmingham when he met Dana, who was 13 and a pupil at Stourport High School.
At the time of her death she was training for a black belt in karate. She represented Great
Britain at the WUKO World Junior Karate Championships in Italy in 2008. Riat took her to Italy on that trip where he had sex with her.
He was cleared of rape but convicted of sexual assault and seven counts of sexual activity with a child.
Riat first went on trial for abusing Dana at Birmingham Crown Court in the summer of 2010.
A jury was sworn in on August 2 and Mr Jones opened the case on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service.
But the next day Judge Philip Parker QC dramatically halted the trial, which had taken months of preparation.
He
revealed Mr Jones had held a pre-trial meeting at his house with Dana,
who was described by the judge as a vulnerable witness.
Judge
Parker said at the time: ‘It is a very serious case, at its highest an
allegation of rape of a young girl of 13 or 14 by a man in a position of
trust.
‘This morning
matters have been drawn to my attention over concern about a meeting
which prosecuting counsel, Mr David Jones, had with the complainant in
the case.
‘The long and
short of it is that as a result of disclosures in respect of that
meeting, the defence… wish that the jury be discharged and that some
investigations take place concerning this meeting so that Mr Jones’
position is clear and so that the defence have material upon which they
might consider making further applications in respect of the trial.’
The meeting took place on July 29, 2010 at Mr Jones’ home.
Dana
attended with her foster mother and a carer or social worker. It is
understood that Mr Jones’ wife was also present at the meeting, which
included food.
Yet the
barrister breached his own profession’s Code of Conduct because the
Crown Prosecution Service was not notified of the meeting, no police
officer was in attendance and no notes were taken.
Sports star: Schoolgirl Dana represented her country at karate and was academically bright
Mr Jones had said he had wanted to discuss with Dana if she would give evidence via a TV link, or live in court behind a screen.
Such a meeting could have been allowed under ‘special measures’, as long as no evidential matters were discussed.
But
the barrister admitted to the judge that Dana had seen the transcripts
of her video evidence and a ‘prosecution case summary’ which included a
‘summary of what she was maintaining, but also included summaries of
other witnesses’ evidence’.
The judge added that Mr Jones believed Dana had also been allowed to take away ‘his own personal summary of her interviews’.
Resigned: Prosecutor David Jones quit his Birmingham law firm after his legal blunder halted the trial
Mr
Jones apparently told the judge the meeting had been ‘well-intentioned’
and was aimed at seeking to ‘avoid any problem with late video editing
which might hold up the trial’.
It
was a misjudgement, in the judge’s view, to ‘see a witness in such
circumstances, in particular a young witness, a witness with some sort
of psychological/psychiatric background.
‘The
long and short of it is that I do not believe that this jury can
continue to consider this case… I am afraid the result of my ruling is
that the current jury will have to be discharged and we will have to
seek a new potential date for the trial.’
A
subsequent hearing took place about two months later at which Riat’s
defence team argued for the case against him to be thrown out on the
grounds that there had been ‘an abuse of process’.
That
application failed but Mr Jones resigned from the Bar the day after
that hearing, in which his meeting with the teenage victim was heavily
criticised.
An inquest
into Dana’s death was opened last autumn. A full hearing to determine how
and why she died will be held later this month.
Despite her death, West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service successfully argued
for a retrial and lawyers had her crucial videotaped evidence admitted.
In
a statement, Tony McDaid, practice director of No5 Chambers, said he
could not comment on the circumstances of the rape trial collapse.
He
added: ‘Mr Jones joined us in 2006 and was a leading barrister on the
Midlands’ circuit for 40 years. What happened was a very unfortunate
matter but Mr Jones had an exemplary record.’
He
added that the Crown Prosecution Service had faith in Mr Jones’
judgement and advocacy skills, in giving him such a sensitive case.
Mr Jones was unavailable for comment.
- For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch – see www.samaritans.org for details
Share this article:
Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.
The comments below have been moderated in advance.
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
No doubt it was all fitted up to assist him getting off. I hope he rots in hell. RIP Child. Another one dies is it any wonder this sort of thing rarely gets reported, hence the reason this sort of scum is allowed to continue breathing.
Report abuse
I was sexually abused for 8 years by 4 of my closest relatives. None of my family know about it, and the thought of the truth coming out makes me want to crawl under a rock for the remainder of my life. So for this girl to get the strength to face the man who abused her in court, and for the case to collapse – it makes me want to cry for her. Totally unfair and may she RIP wherever she is x
Report abuse
This poor girl was failed by professional people who should have known better. Tragic waste of a young life
Report abuse
surely the carer or social worker should have known the rules and been there to protect a vulnerable person. so sad
– Christine, Coventry——————————–The prosecuting Barrister knew the rules he is the legal expert NOT the carer or social worker stop trying to shift blame!
Report abuse
I hope the judge can live with himself, he put the letter of the law first, second and last, as they do all the time. They proclaim its for fairness etc but in reality its just to protect their overpaid jobs. The more arcane and procedural the justice system is the more of a closed shop it is, the more inaccessible and impenitrable it is for ordinary people. The arrogance of most judges is breathtaking. And as for the Defence attorney I wonder how they sleep at night? Very well probably; they claim that everyone most be defended properly etc but I doubt they’d be doing it if they werent very, very well paid for it. The blood of this poor girl is on the hands of the judge and defence lawyer almost as much as it is on the rapists.
Report abuse
What a pitiful sentence and a family torn apart with the loss of their daughter, so not only do they have the burden of losing her they also have had salt kicked into their wounds by the leniency that has been shown this thing, i wont call him a man and insult all the decent males of the world. RIP Dana, i hope you have found peace x
Report abuse
I’m not known for pushing a feminist agenda but that poor girl was failed (to put it very mildly) from start to last by men she was expected to trust. How on earth could such a ‘mistake’ be made by an experienced barrister? As for the scum who raped her – well you couldn’t print it so I won’t say it.
Report abuse
A beautiful young lady, an incompetant barrister and a piece of filth. Eight years for rape and being involved in her death by her having to go through that. How could they want to put her through it twice. He obviously was quilty, but we have to make sure he has HIS human rights. RIP.
Report abuse
He was cleared of rape but convicted of sexual assault !!!!!!!! WHAT?
PEADOPHILE RAPIST MORE LIKE!
What a poor child, hope you find peace now. YET AGAIN the rapist gets away and the woman is let down and raped again by a pathetic so called justice system.
Report abuse
Poor girl.
Report abuse
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Related posts:
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
