Case Studies

At Griffin Forensics we work on many different cases which include:

– Indecent images of children and child abuse investigations
– Murder and terrorism investigations
– Political corruption and immigration investigations
– Trading standards investigations

If we can assist with these difficult kinds of cases please call 01280 707190 or
email info@griffinforensics.com

Illegal Images of Children (IIoC) Investigations

Examples of our notable cases including Illegal Images of Children (IIoC) include:

Illegal Images of Children (IIoC) – Brian Curtin is a former Irish circuit court judge who was tried for possessing child pornography. At trial he was found not guilty however Michael McDowell, the Minister for Justice, launched an impeachment motion in the Dáil to remove Curtin from office. Curtin resigned shortly before the hearing was due to commence and the process could not be completed; subsequently he was not impeached. Our computer expert was instructed on behalf of the Oireachtas in the impeachment hearing. This case attracted significant media attention including: RTE News and the statement regarding the resignation of Judge Brian Curtin can be found on the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform website.

Illegal Images of Children (IIoC) – Our computer expert was instructed by the prosecution in the case of the Air Cadet Instructor Gary Pavey who was found guilty of possession of Illegal Images of Children (IIoC) ; it was stored both on his computer and on computer media recovered from his car. For more information visit Court News (the archive of court reports).

Murder and Terrorism Investigations

Examples of our notable cases include murder and terrorism include:

Murder – Gary Weddell was a police inspector who was accused of the murder of his wife, Sandra and mother-in-law, Traute Maxfield. Our computer expert identified that a Microsoft Word document had been created, printed but not saved on the family computer shortly before Sandra’s death; this was significant to the investigation. For more information on the Garry Weddell case visit the BBC website.

Terrorism – Omar Altimimi was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of six charges of possession of material for a purpose connected with terrorism and money laundering; we were instructed to examine the computer media on behalf of the defence. The case is believed to be the first trial in Manchester which involves allegations of conduct linked to “Middle Eastern” terrorism. For more information on this case; visit Manchester Evening News.

Murder – Levi Bellfield was known in the press as the bus stop stalker; he was found guilty of the murder of Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange. Our computer expert was instructed by the defence to look at the computer and mobile phone for evidence of a potential alibi. This case attracted considerable media coverage including: Sky News and The Telegraph.

Terrorism – Our computer expert was instructed by the prosecution to examine the emails between the conspirators when Dhiren Barot was sentenced to “at least 40 years” for conspiracy to murder. More information on Dhiren Barot can be found on Wikipedia.

Murder – Four teenagers were found guilty of the murder of Stephen Green, a cyclist from Luton who was attacked as he returned home from work late one evening; our computer experts were instructed by the prosecution to examine the computers and CCTV systems. Further information can be found on the Luton Today website.

Political Corruption and Immigaration investigations

Examples of our notable investigations into political corruption and immigration offences include:

Political Corruption – Our computer expert provided computer evidence for Westminster City Council in their efforts to recover the £36m surcharge imposed on Dame Shirley Porter for her role in the ‘homes for votes’ scandal in the 1980’s. The evidence assisted Stephenson Harwood Solicitors with tracking Dame Porter’s assets when a £12m mediated agreement was reached. Media coverage of this matter includes: The Register and the BBC websites.

Facilitation of Illegal Immigrants – Miss P was accused of facilitating the transportation of illegal immigrants into the United States. Our computer expert was instructed to report on the computer generated evidence which, on the face of it, was quite compelling. Our request to the prosecution for further supporting evidence however identified a number of serious anomalies which helped ensure her acquittal.

Trading Standards Investigations

Examples of our notable cases involving Trading Standards offences include:

Trading Standards Offences – Neil Stansfield, the director of ONE (Organic, Natural and Ethical) Food Ltd was jailed for 27 months and disqualified from being a company director for instigating an organic food fraud and being responsible for ripping off both consumers and major organic food retailers such as Abel and Cole and Fortnum and Mason. Northamptonshire Trading Standards also successfully prosecuted Neil Stansfield’s wife who was the company secretary and the company’s operations manager for fraudulent trading and both received suspended custodial sentences and ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.

Griffin Forensics assisted with this complex investigation by providing evidence of web based sales, identifying non-organic suppliers, identifying faked invoices from organic suppliers and uncovering the transfer of non-organic meat supplies to ‘game’ codes and as ‘non-stock’ items in order to try and evade the scrutiny of the local authorities and organic certifying bodies .