Re AA and 25 Others

The judgment in Re AA and 25 Others [2019] EWFC 64 has been handed down. Jane Cross QC, Julia Cheetham QC, Bansa Singh Hayer and Prudence Beaumont all appeared in the case which took place over 15 weeks at the beginning of this year.

There were 15 linked cases which were heard together by Sir Mark Hedley who said in his judgment This has been, in my experience at least, an unprecedentedly complex case. Sir Mark concluded that there was no paedophile ring as asserted by the local authority but that the complainant children had been sexually abused. No findings were made against any of the respondents or interveners outside of family. In the judgment Sir Mark deals extensively with the logistics of managing such a trial and, in an important epilogue, discusses the need for such cases to be brought before the court as part of the modern child protection system. The link to the judgment can be found here.