Why isn't a court case in the press?

[ShakeYourSelf]

2 years ago someone I used to work with appeared in court, pleading not guilty to historical crimes against children. This was reported in the papers and online.

The court case was delayed due to covid but I know (from mutual acquaintances) that their case has been in court over the past few weeks.

However there has been nothing in the press about the trial or the outcome. Does anyone know why this might be?

To protect the victims?

These sort of crimes are in the courts every day they sit and most aren't reported - the press have limited numbers of court reporters.
It's always worth tipping off your local newspaper/website in advance and asking if they can cover it, but still no guarantee they'll have the staff to do so.

@SoupDragon The victims will have lifelong anonymity by law, even if the perpetrator is acquitted.

Would identifying the accused be likely to identify the victims though. That's what I meant.

Obviously no local press covered it. Local press are usually the first on the scene so to speak and the story may then be picked up by the nationals. If they didn't cover it, it was probably because there was just too much news at the time and this wasn't considered newsworthy enough.

I doubt there is anything more sinister to it

@SoupDragon There are ways around that. Very often it would be by reporting he'd assaulted e.g. a 10 year old boy or a boy who was 10 at the time without giving any further information about how he might have known the child.

It's extremely unusual to have an order banning identification of the accused unless they are a minor.

There needs to be a reporter sitting in court. If there isn't anyone there, nothing is reported unless the police do a press release.

Not all courts are covered, and certainly not daily. I used to ring a reporter if I felt there was an interesting case in court they might want to cover (police - all above board!).

Thanks all, that makes sense.

I guess I was surprised there's been no reporting considering how widely in was covered in the local press (in several different areas) following the initial appearance in court.

Just another thought on this. Does anyone know if there's a way to find the outcome of the trial? Do courts release that information somewhere?

(Excuse my ignorance in these questions)

The trial may not have happened yet.

The Court system is in chaos - insufficient judges, insufficient courtrooms, and the Criminal Bar Association is taking (or at least discussing) industrial action by refusing to accept 'returned' cases (that is, cases that were prepared by another barrister who then couldn't appear on the day it was in court, and doesn't get paid for the work they did) as the whole system is being propped up by unpaid work.

So... it may have been listed for trial and it wasn't heard, or it may have been listed for a directions hearing (administrative issues).

Local press have been decimated, especially during the pandemic. If you send them an email they may pick up the verdict/sentencing though.

And buy a local newspaper!

@ShakeYourSelf It's worth you contacting the newsdesk of the paper(s)/website who covered the original case to remind them. They should follow it up if it was originally reported, not least because he may be found not guilty and there is a record of the outcome.

Crown Court listings appear online - Google the name of the court + listings. You should be able to search by name and date.

This is all helpful, thank you.

Looks like there was a hearing last week.