Grace is often instructed by the CPS as she has a reputation for meticulous preparation and attention to detail, combined with tenacious advocacy. Her specialist field is dealing with serious sexual offences involving multiple complainants. She has a gift for handling sensitive issues and empathy for victims.  She does accept defence work and her success in defending is as illustrated in the cases highlighted.

SERIOUS SEXUAL CASES INVOLVING MULITPLE COMPLAINANTS

Operation Redstone 2017- 2018

In Operation Redstone 2017- 2018, a large scale police investigation into sexual abuse by clergymen and officials within the Diocese of Lincoln, Grace Hale prosecuted John Bailey, a former clergyman and the Director of Education for historic sexual abuse of young underaged females between 1955 to 1982. Grace Hale also prosecuted Roy Griffiths, the Cathedral school choir master and boarding house master who pleaded guilty on the first day of trial to multiple historic sexual offences against various choristers aged between 7 to 13 in the 1960s.

2018 - Misconduct in a public office

Grace Hale prosecuted a police officer for offences of misconduct in public office for improper use of the details of several women who were vulnerable victims of crime. He met them, established a rapport with them and secured their trust. He later contacted them and engaged in sexual chats that included sending intimate photographs of himself. His objective was sexual gratification and he succeeded in establishing a sexual relationship with some of the women.

R v Roy Griffiths (Operation Redstone)

Prosecuted a public school choir master for historical sexual abuse of 6 young choir boys under the age of 13 who were also boarders at the school. The Defendant pleaded guilty on the day of trial. Click Here

R v R

Successful historical child abuse prosecution of a step father who sexually abused his 3 step sons when they were very young in addition to whipping them with a belt regularly. 

R v John Bates

Prosecuted a former scout leader and police officer for historical sexual abuse on a number of young scouts between the ages of 10- 15 years old. Complainants now in their 40s and 50s spoke of their experiences as scouts in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. Click Here

R v Harvey

Prosecuted successfully a man who raped and sexually assaulted a number of women. The Defendant took advantage of the women’s vulnerable state of being incapacitated eg through a medical condition. Click Here or Click Here

R v Bailey

Successful prosecution of a former grenadier guard for indecent assaults of young males. Click Here

R v S

Successful prosecution of Defendant who abused 3 different generations of victims both male and female both in the UK and in Spain.

R v Hayter: Successful prosecution of Defendant who was convicted of multiple counts of rapes on two victims. Defendant sentenced to 17 years imprisonment. Click Here

R v David Sewell

Prosecuted scout leader who carried out systematic abuse of 9 boys over a decade by first befriending their parents and then by securing the trust and affection of the young victims. He received an extended sentence of 25 years. Click Here

Child Sexual Exploitation cases

R v AJ

Prosecution of a 16 old year old male for grooming young girls under 16 via social media networks before meeting up with them to engage in sexual activity including rapes of a child under 13. Click Here

R v Nicholas Geddes

Successful prosecution of a university graduate from Ellesmere Port who contacted underage boys from Nottinghamshire, Durham, Newcastle, Scotland and Wales via various social media forums and incited them to sexual activity on the webcam. He lured them to hotels local to them where sexual activity including rapes occurred. He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. Click Here

R v William Wright

Led prosecution of a Lincolnshire police officer who was also a scout leader in sexual abuse of children. He was charged with numerous offences of rape, sexual activity with children, causing or inciting children under 16 to engage in sexual activity, and with the making, distribution and possession of indecent photographs of children between 2007 and 2010. The Defendant who received an undetermined sentence of imprisonment was a predatory paedophile who sought out and made contact with young boys via internet networking sites, through his voluntary activities and through his employment. Click Here

OTHER SERIOUS SEXUAL OFFENCES 

R v Lee

Prosecution of a historical stranger rape of a woman in 1989 at knife point in an alleyway where the Defendant donned a balaclava. Advancement in DNA testing and analysis meant when the police resurrected the investigation and re examined the DNA evidence, they were able to arrest the Defendant. Click Here

R v Hopkins

Historical child abuse prosecution of a father who raped his daughter repeatedly when she was under 12 years old and then murdered her mother the day after the last rape. The Defendant was convicted after trial and his daughter waived her anonymity and provided her story to the press. Click Here

R v Jaskierny

Defended a man accused of trespass with intent to rape. The Defendant broke into an 86 year old woman’s house and attempted to rape her. He was suffering from a manic episode of his bipolar affective disorder. The Defence called three experts including the expert originally instructed by the Prosecution. The Jury did not find the Defendant guilty of the offence. Instead they found him not guilty by reason of insanity. The Defendant received a supervision order.

R v Sedgwick

Serial sex attacker convicted after trial of offences. He prowled around the town centre before approaching two women when each was walking home on her own.  He pleaded guilty at trial of a “stranger” rape on yet another woman by following her and carrying her off to the secluded grounds of a local library. Click Here

R v B and M

Prosecution of a mother indecently assaulted her own son and then aided and abetted the sexual abuse of her son by more than one man including M who raped the boy in return for monetary payment.  The boy was under the age of 10.  Both were convicted after trial.

R v Hutsby

Heanor Memorial Park rapist convicted after trial, receives extended sentence of 10 years. Click Here

R v Mahmood

Defendant, a taxi control room operator was convicted after trial of raping a vulnerable female in the taxi office after she tried to hire a taxi. He received an extended sentence. Click Here

Cases involving child cruelty

R v H

Defended mother charged with child cruelty of a 6 month old baby who suffered unexplained multiple fractures. The case involved the evidence of a number of eminent paediatricians and radiologists.

R v S

Successfully defended father charged with child cruelty to young baby. This case concerned the controversial and contentious issue of Shaken Baby Syndrome where evidence was given by 5 prosecution medical experts and 5 defence medical experts, including 2 from the USA.

R v W

Defended a father charged with child cruelty of young toddler with unexplained multiple fractures and bruising.

R v TD

Prosecuted mother who abducted her twins from a social services contact centre. This was a high profile case that attracted a great deal of national media attention as media restrictions were lifted to enable the public to provide information or assistance to the police.

R v MP

Successfully defended a mother charged with child cruelty. The woman’s young son had unexplained fractures of the shoulder blade and elbow. Case concerned with the expert opinions of a number of eminent paediatricians and radiologists.

Cases involving fraud offences

R v Pawelski 

Successfully defended a deaf Defendant accused with 4 others of defrauding the Government of grants totalling £1.2 million. The fraud concerned  4 bogus companies being set up to claim for grants to assist deaf people at work by engaging communication support workers to assist them  when in fact no such support was provided and no such support workers existed.

R v Emma Bent and Sonia Lomas

The prosecution involved Bent receiving over £80,000 worth of income from her pet crematorium business and yet she claimed various benefits for many years. She acquired houses and land and transferred the titles into Sonia Loma’s name. Lomas, her mother said that she was not unaware that frauds had been perpetrated and that she had been duped by her daughter. Both were prosecuted for fraud and money laundering offences. Click Here

R v Decelis, Decelis, Decelis and Giove

Led prosecution of a group of Defendants who exploited vulnerable elderly and lonely men through chatlines of about £600,000. Click Here

R v Childs and Childs

Led junior in the successful prosecution of Lincoln Mencap’s chairman and his wife, the accommodation manager for defrauding a number of victims with learning disabilities as well as physical disabilities of their benefits and their savings. Click Here

R v Hussain

Successfully defended in a mobile telephone fraud that involved a number of people in the UK whose identities had been stolen and use in the course of the scam. A financial loss of nearly £300,000 was caused to various mobile telephone suppliers.

Miscellaneous serious cases

R v Stokes and Langton

Causing death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice. Two cars where the drivers were unknown to each other drove “raced” for a short distance with the result that the car driven by Langton lost control in trying to over Stokes’ car and careered to the opposing carriage, killing her passenger. Stokes also tried to disguise the damage to his car by changing his alloy wheels and replacing the wing of his car. Stokes was convicted after trial. Click Here

R v O’Bike

Prosecution of offence causing death by dangerous driving. The Defendant tried to overtake an articulated lorry while travelling up a slight hill and collided with a motorcyclist causing his death.  A lesser plea of causing death by careless driving was accepted after the close of the prosecution case. Click Here

R v Joseph and Farrell 

Prosecuted both men for a series of armed robberies and a serious sexual offence. Both men disguised themselves and burgled various dwellings in the middle of the nights. They confronted house occupiers with a handgun and a knife. A young mother was struck with a handgun while her two year was threatened in one house. Another man was stabbed in the stomach when he screamed. A student’s house was entered and two females threatened with a handgun and a knife. One female was seriously assaulted by an act of penetration. Click Here

R v Edwards

Prosecuted Edwards for attempt murder where during a fight, the Defendant, repeatedly stabbed the Complainant through this heart and lungs with a knife. Click Here

Other professional work

Chair of Disciplinary Panel at England Golf dealing with a wide range of matters from breaches of golf rules to matters relating to safeguarding the welfare and safety of young children in golf related events.