Alan Walker: Sex molester loses his appeal

Convicted sex molester Alan Walker, 50, of Nook Farm, Rochdale lost a bid to clear his name when his appeal was thrown out at London’s Criminal Appeal Court.

Walker, who was jailed for two years in March 2012 after being found guilty of sexual assault at Burnley Crown Court, maintains his innocence claiming that he was asleep at the time of the incident.

Walker molested a woman in January 2011 at a house party. The victim, who was in her 20s, said she awoke to find him sexually assaulting her.

Walker denied wrongdoing and claimed that he suffered from ‘sexsomnia’ and was asleep at the time. Sexsomnia, like sleep walking, is known as a parasomnia, an abnormal activity that occurs during a specific kind of sleep. 

The jury rejected his account and found him guilty.

He challenged his conviction at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, where his lawyers argued that his trial was unfair, because the judge misdirected the jury on the issue of Walker’s good character.

The test case appeal was heard alongside a number of other cases by five of the country’s most senior judges, as it raised an important legal point about the trial judge’s directions to jurors on a defendant’s credibility.

However, his appeal was thrown out by the court with Lord Chief Justice, Sir John Thomas, who ruled that the judge did not misdirect the jury.

http://rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/93997/convicted-sex-molester-alan-walker-bids-to-clear-his-name