A man wrongfully convicted of historic child sex charges spent more than five years in prison before being released, yet he and his family are still out of money by over half a million pounds.
Brian Buckle, 51, was accused of abusing a child between the ages of eight and ten in the 1990s. He maintained that the claims were untrue, but following a three-and-a-half-day trial at Swansea Crown Court in 2017, he was found guilty on 16 counts and sentenced to 33 years in prison, to be served over 15 years.
The girl’s childhood diary was a major prosecution exhibit. She stated that he masturbated over it throughout the abuse. A DNA test revealed that it was stained with Buckle’s sperm. Prosecutors displayed it in court for the jury to see. Buckle stated he’d never seen anything like it before, and that the semen stain must have been planted on it to incriminate him – maybe from a used condom.
He and his wife Elaine recruited a new legal team led by barrister Stephen Vullo KC for their appeal. They located a forensic specialist in Florida who retested the journal and discovered that the semen stain had traces of condom lubricant, indicating that Buckle, not his accuser, was being truthful.
The convictions were overturned by the Court of Appeal last year. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) requested a retrial, which included testimony from a hypnotherapist who had visited the complainant before she made her claims. Following the evidence of the hypnotherapist, the complainant revealed in court that she had been abused two years before meeting Buckle.
During the retrial, prosecutors argued that by holding up the diary in public during the first trial, they may have contaminated it, rendering the retesting invalid – but this was rejected on the opinion of the forensic expert. After a three-week retrial, the jury delivered unanimous not-guilty verdicts on all counts in May of this year.
Brian, a construction manager, has returned to his hometown of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He and his family spent about £500,000 clearing his reputation, primarily from inheritance, and have been advised that they may not receive any of it back. They were not qualified for Legal Aid, and since a legislation change in 2014, the vast majority of people whose convictions are overturned receive no compensation.
Elaine told Inside Time: “I’m chuffed for Brian. When it comes to the money, I always said that I would be happy to sell my home to clear his name – but why the hell should I have to? If we hadn’t had all that money, Brian would still be in prison.”
Brian said: “If the police had done a proper investigation and followed up all the lines of inquiry, this would never have gone to court.”
Dyfed-Powys Police declined to comment. A CPS spokesperson said: “Following an investigation by Dyfed-Powys Police, we charged Brian Buckle in 2016 with multiple sexual offences after our legal test was met. The Court of Appeal subsequently set aside his conviction in 2022 and referred the case back to the CPS. Following a review of the evidence, we concluded our legal test was still met and proceeded with a second trial. The jury found Mr Buckle not guilty and we respect its decision.”
The case, which raises questions over the police policy of “believing victims” and the potential it brings for miscarriages of justice, will feature in a BBC News documentary scheduled to be broadcast this week.
