Exchange Chambers

Exchange Chambers Barrister Successful In ‘Witch Hunt’ Case

Tania Griffiths QC from Exchange Chambers has successfully defended Roderick Ryall, a former school house master who was accused of 10 counts of indecent assault on three children in the 1960s and 1970s.

Tania Griffiths argued that Mr Ryall had been subject to a ‘witch hunt’ by police and alleged victims who tried to claim compensation on the back of his past convictions for child abuse.

Mr Ryall was accused of abusing two teenage pupils in the 1960s when he was a school house master and of molesting a cub scout in the 1970s, when he was Director of Social Services in West Yorkshire.

“This case was a farce throughout – the complainants used knowledge of previous convictions to jump on a bandwagon and the police pursued the case regardless of a complete lack of evidence,” Tania said. “This has been a witch hunt. It has been a trawling exercise, and it is quite unforgivable.”

Judge George Moorhouse agreed, directing the jury to return not guilty verdicts after two weeks of hearing evidence.

He said it had been impossible for Mr Ryall to receive a fair trial and hit out at Durham Police saying, “It is clear that the officers conducting the investigation have not conducted themselves in a proper way.”

The jury was told that Mr Ryall had previous convictions for abusing young people. In 1988, he admitted four offences of indecent assault, two of gross indecency and a serious sexual assault charge at Leeds Crown Court.

Tania Griffiths was instructed by Chris Saltrese Solicitors.