A man who pleaded guilty to producing cannabis despite being a victim of human trafficking as a child has had his conviction referred to the Crown Court.
Mr ‘Q’ was trafficked from Vietnam as a child in 2013 for the purposes of forced labour. In April 2017 he was convicted at Warrington magistrates’ court of cultivating cannabis and sentenced to 20 months custody.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission believes that there is a real possibility that the Crown Court will overturn his conviction, as the legal advisors who represented him at court did not inform him about a possible defence under section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
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The CCRC is an independent body set up under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It is responsible for independently reviewing suspected and alleged miscarriages of criminal justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and funded by the Ministry of Justice.
Helen Pitcher, Chairman of the CCRC said: "Our review has found that this young man has been let down by a wide range of agencies involved in his prosecution. We believe there is a real possibility his conviction will be quashed because the guidelines suggest he should never have been prosecuted in the first place.
"It is vital that everyone involved in the criminal justice system is aware of the law to prevent further miscarriages of justice, but sadly we are seeing too many applicants with cases like this. Anybody who thinks they may have been wrongly convicted in similar circumstances should contact the CCRC about their case.”
Mr Q first came to the attention of the authorities in 2014 but subsequently went missing from local authority care. He was likely re-trafficked within the UK. In 2015, shortly after his disappearance, the Home Office determined that Mr Q was a victim of trafficking.
Two years later, in 2017, Mr Q was arrested inside a cannabis farm and pleaded guilty in the magistrates’ court to a single count of cultivating a class B drug. In 2018, the Home Office, again, concluded that he was a victim of human trafficking.
The CCRC’s review has established that as a victim of trafficking Mr Q had a defence under the Modern Slavery Act which would quite probably have succeeded. The legal advice he was given in 2017 overlooked this defence and the CCRC has concluded that there is a real possibility that an appeal against this conviction will now succeed.
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