23 Essex Street London WC2R 3AA
020 7413 0353
Abigail Husbands 2000
]
Profile
Abigail is an established junior with experience spanning a broad range
of criminal disciplines, whilst specialising in sex cases. She regularly
deals with all types of serious sex cases including historic offences and
cold-case reviews, as well as child cruelty and child abuse trials, serious
multi-handed violence and drugs cases including complex conspiracies,
fraud and money laundering offences. She has experience dealing with
vulnerable witnesses, particularly child witnesses and people with
learning difficulties.
Her experience includes the successful prosecution of a cold case
stranger rape, a number of historic rape cases relating to vulnerable
child complainants with difficulties such as autism, and the successful
acquittal of a man charged with kidnap, false imprisonment and assault
of a woman. She also successfully prosecuted of a man charged with
section 20 GBH after knowingly infecting a sexual partner with HIV, and
a prison officer for conspiracy to supply drugs to inmates of HMP
Elmley. She has been junior counsel in a number of high profile cases
including an eight-handed kidnap, rape & false imprisonment trial: the
'Hackney Boys' gang-rape trial, murder trials, a multi-handed peoplesmuggling trial and the Tonbridge arsonist case.
General Crime
Abigail is currently instructed in a number of historic child rape cases
and two large scale fraud cases including a Complex Case Unit
prosecution. She has experience in dealing with expert evidence and
has cross-examined various experts on complex areas including sleep
disorders, genital injuries and DNA. She has successfully defended a
number of serious violence cases and has experience in dealing with
vulnerable and young defendants. She defended one of the defendants
in the Southampton vampire case, the first religiously aggravated
harassment case and has successfully defended in a number of multihanded trials.
Counsel’s Clerk
[email protected]
[email protected]
Primary Areas of Practice
General Crime
Sex Crime
Child Abuse
Intellectual Property Crime
Appointments
Rape List Specialist
CPS Serious Crime Group Panel
Level 2
CPS London and South East
Grade 3 Advocate
Professional Memberships
Criminal Bar Association
South Eastern Circuit
Kent Bar Mess
Central London Bar Mess
Thames Valley Bar Mess
The Honourable Society of
Middle Temple:
Accommodation Scholar
23 Essex Street London WC2R 3AA
020 7413 0353
Abigail Husbands 2000
Intellectual Property Crime
Abigail is also an intellectual property crime specialist. She recently
successfully prosecuted two men for illegally running a business
streaming Premier League football matches online, and she played an
instrumental role in one of the largest internet piracy and
counterfeiting conspiracy cases to date, acting on behalf of the
Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT). Abigail has appeared in
Trading Standards cases and speaks on the subject of trade mark and
copyright offences.
Cases of note include;
R v Arshad Arif [2013]
Prosecuted a stranger rape in which a 17 year old complainant had
been separated from her friends. The defendant purported to give her
a lift home, but took her 30 miles away to Slough. He then raped her
twice in a park.
See News Article
R v Dwobeng [2013]
Prosecution of cold-case review stranger rape case.
R v K [2013]
Prosecution of a father for the sexual abuse of all three daughters over
period of 12 years including taking video footage of abuse.
R v Goodger & Bannister [2012]
Prosecution of two men for running an illegal business streaming live
Premier League matches online contrary to the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
See News Article
R v Talbot [2012]
Prosecution of historic buggery trial which involved lengthy and
complex legal arguments regarding the law at the time and over
various periods when the legislation changed.
R v Hedges [2012]
Trial which dealt with doli incapax, joinder of indecent images and
sexual abuse in one indictment, and historic offences.
R v Robinson [2011]
Prosecution of multiple historic rape allegations on the basis that the
child was groomed into submitting to sexual intercourse.
23 Essex Street London WC2R 3AA
020 7413 0353
Abigail Husbands 2000
R v Reast [2011]
Prosecution of multiple historic sexual abuse allegations covering
multiple complainants and offences spanning 30 years and 3
generations.
R v S [2010]
Defended a 15 year old male on a charge of sexual assault by
penetration of a 5 year old girl. Involved detailed legal arguments on
competency and character, including cross-examination of 6 and 7 year
old witnesses.
R v S [2010]
Prosecution of historic rape allegations relating to vulnerable
complainants, including witnesses with Down’s Syndrome. Abuse of
process arguments spanning several days, dealing with competency,
doli incapax, and whether a jury can be expected to decide whether a
defendant now aged 31 knew what was seriously wrong when he was
aged 13.
R v Dowler [2009]
Defended a man charged with kidnap, false imprisonment and assault
of a female where she was left naked and beaten in the New Forest.
R v Hollick [2009]
Prosecution counsel in this rape case where the issue was automatism,
with expert evidence on sexsomnia and serious sleep disorders.
R v Nicholas Weatherall [2009]
Lone prosecution counsel in this armed robbery and false
imprisonment case which involved a vicious attack on a stranger within
his own home who was bound and gagged whilst over £10,000 worth
of items were taken.
R v Chappell & Others [2008]
Junior counsel in this Serious Organised Crime prosecution trial where
6 defendants were charged with the importation of multiple kilos of
cocaine across the English Channel.
R v Lee Harper [2008]
Prosecution counsel in this GBH case which involved the slashing of a
man’s throat in the centre of Maidstone town centre and the analysis
and presentation of complex CCTV evidence.
23 Essex Street London WC2R 3AA
020 7413 0353
Abigail Husbands 2000
R v Ryan & Others [2008]
Junior defence counsel in this high profile multi-handed gang rape trial.
The young defendants were members of the Hackney boys’ gang and
were charged with multiple rapes, false imprisonment and kidnap of a
14 year old girl. The defendant himself had learning difficulties.