Quentin Hunt secures acquittal of defendant accused of racist abuse of Premier League Footballer

Quentin Hunt was instructed by Lawsons solicitors to represent Mr CM, who was accused of sending a racist post to England footballer Marcus Rashford via Instagram following England’s loss to Italy in the 2020 European cup final. CM appeared before Brighton Magistrate Court for trial, accused of ‘sending by means of a public electronic communications network a message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character’ contrary to section 127(1)(a) and (3) of the Communications Act 2003.

CM asserted that although he accepted that his handset had sent the racist post, it was not him who was responsible for sending the message. The defence case was that there was significant doubt as to significant parts of the prosecution case and that it could not be proved who had custody of the handset at the time that the offensive message was sent.

The trial concluded with a Not Guilty verdict and the Court granting a defendant’s costs order.