Successes of the Month - October 2012

Contents

• Gillian Foxcroft and Eva Moncaster pull seven defendants together in one trial to get justice for sexually exploited girls in Derby
• Victoria Jones, Shenaz Muzaffer and Kath Greenwood tackle one of the biggest NHS frauds ever
• Helen Harmeston praised for changing the life of a domestic violence survivor

Gillian Foxcroft, Senior Crown Prosecutor, and Eva Moncaster, Paralegal Officer, CPS East Midlands

Holding seven individual defendants to account in one trial to protect vulnerable girls

'Operation Kern' was a case that evolved from reports of men in Derby paying young, vulnerable girls for sexual services. Seven defendants were sentenced - along with another man who had previously pleaded guilty - to a total of 47 years in September 2012.

From an early stage, Gillian secured the co-operation of all involved to deal with all the defendants together, protecting the victims from having to go through a series of trials.

She also worked closely with the local authority and voluntary agencies to secure early release of information. This meant it was always ready ahead of schedule.

Because there was no connection between the defendants, the case was extremely vulnerable to arguments from the defendants' lawyers that the men ought to be tried separately. Gillian and Eva fought these applications hard to ensure that the case stayed together as one trial.

Eva's expertise from other abuse cases meant that she anticipated issues and suggested solutions that had been successful before. The judge commented on the way she had kept on top of the case throughout the trial, while managing the demands of seven defence teams for information and paperwork.

Gillian and Eva received a judge's commendation praising their teamwork and professionalism.

Neil Hoodless, DCP, Derbyshire Crown Court team said: "Although this case was a good example of teamwork and professionalism from all agencies involved, Gillian and Eva both had a pivotal role in driving the case forward successfully and richly deserve the credit given to them by the judge."

Victoria Jones, Senior Crown Advocate, Shenaz Muzaffer, Complex Casework Unit lawyer, and Kath Greenwood, Paralegal Officer, with Mohammed Hafeez, Crown Advocate, West Midlands Complex Casework Unit (CCU)

Victoria, Shenaz, Kath and the CCU team secure convictions in huge NHS fraud

Joyce Trail was a dentist working in Handsworth, Birmingham. Her daughter, Nyri Sterling, worked as an administrative assistant at the practice. Between them, they carried out one the biggest frauds ever perpetrated against the NHS.

They had submitted over 7,000 fraudulent claims for dental work on deceased 'patients' and other treatments that never took place, accounting for almost 75 per cent of the payments made to Dr Trail under her NHS contract. She spent the proceeds - amounting to over £1.3 million - on holidays, jewellery, shoes, handbags and a £1.5million house. Her daughter, Nyri Sterling, had helped with submitting the paperwork.

There were over 80,000 documents associated with the case. Shenaz Muzaffer, Victoria Jones and their team had to go though all of the paperwork in order to check its accuracy.

The case was also unusual in that the team were working with NHS Protect (which investigates allegations of NHS fraud and corruption) rather than the police, and working practices differed to quite a degree. The presentation of the evidence was also a significant challenge.

In addition, Dr Trail's assets had been restrained by the court, but on two occasions she breached the terms of the restraint. The team had to ensure there was absolutely no reporting of the breach which might prejudice the imminent trial.

Dr Trail received six and a half years for conspiracy to defraud, with six months to serve consecutively for perverting the course of justice. Nyri Sterling received two years' imprisonment for conspiracy to defraud.

Jayne Salt, Head of the CPS West Midlands CCU, said: "Behind every false claim lay an extensive paper trail, which the CPS team were forced to spend many months in painstaking work to trace. This is a victory for every tax payer and user of the NHS."

Helen Harmeston, Senior Crown Prosecutor, CPS East of England

High praise for changing the life of a domestic violence survivor

East of England Senior Crown Prosecutor Helen Harmeston, based in Cambridgeshire, was singled out by Anthony Wills, Chief Executive of Standing Together Against Domestic Violence.

During a focus group of survivors from a refuge which was attended by Mr Wills, he heard the story of a woman from Peterborough who had suffered appallingly at the hands of her partner. She was simply unable to go through with the court process and give evidence. Over a four-year period, she repeatedly withdrew at the last moment.

"Throughout this period there appears to have been one consistent CPS prosecutor, Helen Harmeston, who, according to the survivor, was "amazing". She described a lawyer who was empathetic, understanding and determined, and, probably most important of all, never judgemental.

"Helen apparently never gave up and, at the final court hearing, when the survivor again withdrew and fled the court, Helen sought a lifetime restraining order, which was granted.

"This changed the life of the survivor who is now clearly starting to rebuild her life based on the intervention by your prosecutor.

"A survivor has finally found safety in Lincolnshire directly as a result of Helen's efforts."

Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS East of England, Grace Ononiwu, said: "Helen's handling of this case has made a significant difference to the life of this victim. She demonstrated that she embraced the importance of what we do and how it is essential that we get it right. Helen should be very proud of what she has achieved and I am very proud of her."