Pensioner freed on appeal
AN IPSWICH pensioner who was jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of a series of child sex offences has succeeded in overturning his convictions at the Court of Appeal.
AN IPSWICH pensioner who was jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of a series of child sex offences has succeeded in overturning his convictions at the Court of Appeal.
The jury which convicted 65-year-old James Small of the 16 separate offences could not agree unanimously that he was guilty and he was convicted only by a majority at Norwich Crown Court in October 2006.
Following the verdict, Mr Small, of Mildmay Road, Ipswich, who always denied the allegations, launched an appeal against his convictions.
And yesterday he walked free after three senior judges at the Court of Appeal overturned all 16 convictions and granted him bail, pending a re-trial of the allegations.
His barrister, Richard Christie QC, argued last month that defects in the way the trial proceeded meant the convictions could not stand and urged the Court of Appeal to quash them.
The judges, Sir Christopher Holland, Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Cranston, considered the arguments and handed down their decision in a short hearing.
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No date has been set for a re-trial of the allegations.
