5 people charged with serious offences by Merseyside Police in connection with an alleged incident in August 2018, have been found NOT guilty on all the charges against them.
At a premature Court hearing at Liverpool Crown Courts the Judge ruled a NOT GUILY verdict for all defendants on all charges due to unfounded allegations provided by the non-credible witness.
The accused were assured that the unfortunate allegations will be wiped from court records.
The nightmare ordeal began In a meeting held at their home in Grosvenor Road with a mortgage broker, when they became aware that monies paid as deposits for 2 houses amounting to £53,000.00 in total was none existent and they had been caught in a professional scam.
The monies were taken by the mortgage broker whom they now know has a well-documented history for fraud. Never the less the police acted on the brokers accusations of False imprisonment, blackmail and assault.
The accused were held in police custody for extended questioning for 3 days then all 5 were charged with the serious offences. Bail was granted until a Court hearing scheduled for March 2019.
Shortly after bail was granted on the Friday afternoon all 5 should have been released immediately but due to failings in the system not processing the outcome efficiently all 5 spent a further 3 days in high security prisons.
Mrs Henshaw a former MRICS Chartered Surveyor said ‘I could not believe what was happening, from the moment we were arrested I was in total shock and disbelief, I expected to be told what a terrible mistake had occurred and we were all free to go home, but this did not happen, after the 3rd day alone in a police cell, it was absolutely petrifying when we were then all charged I could not believe what I was hearing, I almost collapsed and had to be seated. Then to spend another 3 days in prison due to system errors was just a living hell.
A 6th individual was also present at the meeting, a local accountant, his attendance was well documented by the family’s CCTV and mentioned in their statements to Police, however surprisingly the police did not want to question him under caution so in an effort to right an injustice he made a statement through his solicitor with instructions to forward to the Police…. not withstanding the case continued.
Mr Henshaw commented:
“I do understand the police have to act upon serious allegations but I can only comment that it appeared some common sense was missing, the allegations made were totally unfounded and untrue and there were so many holes and obvious untruths in the statement against my family that you did not have to be Inspector Clueso to acknowledge there were serious flaws, Including CCTV, false Valuation Reports, witness statements etc etc. When we were all charged it was totally unbelievable. For my youngest son (who was at work on one of my sites all that day with 6 other men) and for my wife to be charged was just beyond belief, there was so much evidence available from day 1 to acknowledge there was something seriously wrong with these allegations, yet we were still charged, details were released in the presswhich affected our family business not to mention our wellbeing’’
The nightmare continued for a further 2 months but In a sudden turn of events on the 7th November the 5 accused were ordered to appear at Liverpool Crown Court when the Judge pronounced a not guilty verdict on all charges for all defendants. This was on the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who acknowledged their only witness was a known fraudster who’s accusations were unfounded and he was not credible.
Mr and Mrs Henshaw further stated:
‘’We knew this day would come and we have been waiting to set the record straight after having our names dragged through the mud. We have lost a week of our lives incarcerated and a further 2 months of worry and legal costs and our eldest son and his friend have lost their deposits and the chance to purchase their first homes which will now have to be put on hold for the foreseeable future’’
‘’We do now understand the correct person is now under investigation by Cheshire Police and take some solace that this scam has been stopped in its tracks and others will not suffer.’’
The family were assured that the unfortunate allegations will be wiped from Court records. But they commented, “the damage has been done having the details of the arrests and subsequent charging made public in the press’’ they are now working with their legal team to determine
what appropriate action they should now take.
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