Call: 1996

David Wilson started his career at the Bar and has continued with a balanced practice of both prosecution and defence work.  His practice continues to cover the full spectrum of areas of criminal law, but with a particular emphasis on sexual offences, drugs and fraud cases. He also has considerable experience of cases involving hi-tech crime and internet fraud.

He has prosecuted and defended in a large number of major cases, including murders, rapes and frauds. He has also successfully acted as leading counsel in a number of cases including a £6.5 million heroin importation trial and a multi-handed serious sexual offences trial.

His experience of prosecuting large scale frauds includes appearing on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions in a number of multi-handed conspiracy to defraud operations, including Operations Debica, Debicas and Vallet and Key. In respect of defence work, he has represented a number of defendants in multi-handed drugs purchase operations in both Norfolk and Suffolk.

He is on the CPS London List of Advocates (Grade 3).

Recent Cases:

• R v Whatling 2009 - Prosecution of accountant for theft of over £400k whilst acting as treasurer of a hospital charitable trust.
• R v Dagworthy 2009 - Junior defence counsel in multi-million pound 'ponzi' scheme fraud.
• R v Mallinder 2008 Successful prosecution of mother for manslaughter following allegation of shaken impact injury to her child.
• R v Graham & others 2008 Multi-handed murder and conspiracy to rob trial.
• R v Slack & others 2008 Multi-handed murder trial.
• R v B 2007 Prosecuted Infanticide case involving sixteen year old mother.
• R v Askew 2007 First successful prosecution in the Suffolk area for concealing criminal property.
• R v Lightning 2006 Successfully defended fifteen year old boy charged with murder.
• R v Waterman 2006 Junior prosecution counsel in murder case.
• R v Goldspink 2006 Junior counsel in six week trial of “pied piper of Horning” sexual offences trial.
• R v Golubev 2006 Defended in a six-handed conspiracy to defraud five week trial with 35,00 pages of prosecution evidence which was largely computer based. Prosecution case stopped at conclusion of its case.
• R v Horn 2005 Leading counsel in £6.5 million heroin importation trial.
• R v Kelvin & Kirby 2005 Leading counsel in historic sexual abuse case.
• R v Hedger 2004 Successful prosecution of sexual assault case involving six year old complainant – one of the youngest complainants in the Essex area to have reached trial.
• Operation Debica, Debicas & Vallet 2004 Department for Work and Pensions multi-handed conspiracy to defraud case.

Cases of Note:
R v Mallinder
December 2008     Court: Basildon Crown Court
Following swiftly after the Baby P trial, this case involved the prosecution of a mother for the unlawful killing of her son, baby Jack. The allegation involved what is often termed ‘shaken baby syndrome’ or ‘shaken impact injury’. Jack was just 16-months-old when he died. He spent the majority of his short life (the last 13 months) in hospital because of the serious head injuries he sustained whilst just three months old. The case attracted much media attention after the release of baby Jack by Social Services to his parent’s just weeks prior to the injuries which would result in his tragic death. A large number of leading experts were called to assist with evidence of subdural haemorrhage, retinal haemorrhage and bone fractures in order to assist the jury with whether the injuries detected were as a result of deliberate trauma or hypoxic ischemic injury.

R v Waterman
December 2006  Court: Ipswich Crown Court
In a case of matricide the court heard how the defendant, 21, tried to decapitate his mother with a Samurai sword. He inflicted two blows to the front of her neck and one to the back of her neck in the kitchen of their home. Waterman admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

R v Goldspink
April 2006  Court: Norwich Crown Court
In this sexual offences trial, the defendant newsagent was convicted of raping two boys and carrying out a number of sexual assaults on other young schoolboys.