Roll on Friday
In September 2022, Robin Jacobs was found guilty of one count of rape under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and sentenced to four years in jail.
The SRA noted that although Jacobs is not a solicitor, he had been “involved in a legal practice” as he was employed as a barrister at SinclairsLaw Limited, at the time of his criminal conviction.
The regulator said that because of Jacobs’ conduct and “the serious nature” of his criminal conviction “it was undesirable for him to be involved in a legal practice without the SRA’s prior approval.”
The SRA therefore made a ‘Section 43 Order’ against Jacobs which bars him from working in the profession unless a firm applies successfully to the SRA for permission to employ him. The SRA also ordered that Jacobs pay its costs of £650.
At his trial in 2022, the court heard that Jacobs unexpectedly initiated anal sex with the woman at his flat in 2017, after two dates.
Having met for lunch, the pair returned to Jacobs’ flat and had consensual sex when Jacobs unexpectedly forced her to have anal sex, ignoring her when she twice told him to stop and screamed at him to “get out”.
The barrister withdrew after approximately 30 seconds and then told the woman to “come for a cuddle”, before offering her paracetamol.
As the victim lay on the bed, Jacobs said, “It’s not funny, I shouldn’t laugh”, and chuckled to himself.
The woman said, “At that point I was just face down on the bed. I didn’t know what to do with myself – I was in quite a lot of pain”. She said, “There was no discussion, absolutely no warning, there was no touching, foreplay, warning. There was nothing”.
“And then he told himself twice that it wasn’t funny, that he shouldn’t laugh, not to laugh, and then after the second time he did laugh”.
“I would say that [he used] a huge amount of force. It felt like what you would describe as a stabbing pain”, she said.
When she was examined at a specialist sexual assault clinic, the woman was found to have a laceration measuring 2.5cm by 2mm which experts agreed was likely to have been inflicted with “at least moderate force”.
The lawyer, from east London, reportedly has autism which impacts his ability to interpret social signals.
After the incident, Jacobs texted a friend to say that the woman’s response had been “a bit of an overreaction”, adding, “I just hope there’s no trouble as a result. I apologised repeatedly when she was here”.
Jacobs texted later, “I haven’t been nicked yet, so that’s good…If the police are after you, do they leave a message or raid you at 5am?”
Jacobs claimed he was confused about the incident and had stumbled into “laddish” behaviour to “navigate social interactions”.
“I thought she was absolutely fine”, he said. “I am not a cruel, aggressive person. That is not what I’m like. It wasn’t something for my own gratification as the phrase goes. No”.
When he was convicted in 2022, Jacobs shouted, “I didn’t do it. I was telling the truth. Oh my God”, then recovered himself and thanked the judge for levying the “lowest possible sentence”.
Judge John Hillen told him, “It gives the court no pleasure to sentence anyone to terms of imprisonment and in this particular case, with a man of good character, of exemplary character, a high standing in his profession, to have to sentence you as I must, and as you know I must, to a term of imprisonment is a sad event”.
“I am satisfied on your evidence that you did genuinely believe that your victim would consent”, said the judge, but it was “wholly unreasonable in the circumstances”.
Jacobs appealed against his conviction, but the Court of Appeal rejected it in December 2023.
https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/jailed-sex-attack-barrister-banned-law
