A piece published by the Mail online two hours ago. The start of the piece:
Scotland Yard is to review hundreds of rape, child abuse and sexual assault cases after a second prosecution collapsed in a week due to an evidence blunder.
Isaac Itiary, who was charged with the rape of a child under 16, was told he would face no further action yesterday after his case was reviewed in the wake of last week’s scandal.
Incredibly, his prosecution involved the same officer as the Liam Allan case, which collapsed last Thursday when it emerged he had failed to disclose thousands of damning text messages.
The detective constable in question, Mark Azariah, is still working at Scotland Yard’s sexual offences unit and has not been suspended. [J4MB: Why not? Because the victims of his incompetence and/or laziness will almost always be men?]
Last night, amid mounting calls for an independent inquiry, the Metropolitan Police announced that every live case being investigated by its Child Abuse and Sexual Offences squad was now being reviewed to ensure that all digital evidence has been properly examined, documented and shared.
The flawed prosecutions have prompted fears there have been miscarriages of justice [J4MB: Fears? Certainties, more like] – but also raise the prospect that rapists and child abusers could go free if they are able to challenge disclosure of evidence at their trial. [J4MB emphasis. Can someone explain the meaning of the highlighted words?]
