Nicholas Wragg

“I want to see my clients straight away. I ask them if they are ok; they almost never are. That leads straight into the diverse field of how to mend people and, where necessary, get the right agencies/experts involved. I know that my clients are nervous about meeting a lawyer. Making them comfortable right from the off is my priority. My ambition is that by the time they leave their first conference they understand all of the courses their case might take and how it might affect them and those close to them and how much it will cost. Everyone is interesting, everyone is different. I do not think I will ever tire of this work.”

Summary

Nicholas is a specialist criminal solicitor and advocate with substantial high level experience in the criminal law arena. A brilliant advocate with courage and flair, who commands the respect of all with whom he works. He has a meticulous eye for detail and a natural respect and warmth for the human at the heart of each case, he is a winner who fiercely protects his clients.

Nicholas’ background as a scientist explains much of his technical expertise. He qualified firstly as a barrister and later cross-qualified as a solicitor. Practicing in London at that time, Nicholas’ increasing specialism in complex and privately funded defence work saw him join the expert niche criminal law team now at Stone King in 2012. His practice is nationwide.

Nicholas has a particular depth of expertise in cases involving all alleged sexual offending from the least to the most serious. He has been involved in hundreds of such cases in recent years, and is a leading expert in his field. Every case is different, but cases involving illegal imagery, vigilantes, undercover stings, contact offending and historic allegations are frequent instructions. Those with Autism Spectrum disorders or mental health issues will feel particularly well supported and reassured by Nicholas’ substantial experience in handling such cases.

Nicholas conducts his advocacy in Crown Courts, the Court of Appeal and the High Court all over the country.

He is also one of a few specialist practitioners in shotgun and firearms licensing breaches and appeals.

Professional Experience

Nicholas’ scientific background in Geology saw him offer professional expert advice in respect of the hazards and risks associated with contaminated land, landslides and collapsed mine workings. Through this profession Nicholas became of necessity a natural speaker and advocate. It is no surprise that Nicholas’ professional experience remains founded in rigorous expert knowledge delivered in a real world setting. He qualified first as a barrister, called to Lincolns Inn, and later cross-qualified as a solicitor within a well-respected, substantial and varied practice based in London. Nicholas cut his teeth on heavyweight Metropolitan practice, with a varied caseload both individually and leading a team, including very high value frauds, serious Sexual Offences, domestic and other serious Violence, Homicide, and Domestic Violence.

Nicholas has been judicially commended for his work in respect of multi-handed undercover drug dealing operations. He chose to adapt his extensive experience to develop a rare and specialist service to private individuals and organisations facing criminal allegations or engaged with law enforcement agencies. Nicholas is able to provide advice and representation from the inception of an allegation or investigation to the final conclusion in any court in the land. This continuity of service is rarely available in legal practice, but ensures that individuals facing life changing allegations are able to have the very best advice, support and representation whether at the police station, Magistrates Court, Crown Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court, High Court or beyond. Having appeared in various precedent setting cases from Sexual Allegations to Rights of Entry, Nicholas’ skillset has his influence bear across the wider Criminal Justice Arena.

Case Studies

M v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, September 2021: Successfully applied to the Court for discharge of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) following successful completion of a community order and without breach of the notification requirements or the SHPO.

D v Chief Constable, June 2021. Our client had been made subject to the notification requirements for life following a an extended sentence following conviction for indecent images some 10 years ago. A detailed application was completed and submitted to the Chief Constable. The Public Protection Unit agreed that he no longer posed a risk of harm and as a result the application was successful.

Feb 2021: Represented a student for three offences of possession with intent to supply drugs including cocaine. Such cases almost inevitably result in an immediate custodial sentence. In appropriate cases Stone King are keen to engage those who wish to reduce their risk and address their offending behaviour. In this case close liaison with the family in respect of interventions and addressing offending behaviour resulted in a high degree of confidence that the defendant showed a real prospect of rehabilitation. The student was in his first year at university and had left the family home a month before. He was immature and naïve and dealing to recreational users only. Exceptionally the defendant received a suspended sentence.

R v H 2020 Crown Court: H had been arrested for the making/possession of indecent images. A significant number were found on his computer but they were not accessible as all had been deleted. H denied accessing these as a deliberate act and said he was appalled by such images and deleted them immediately when he found them. He was charged with three counts of making such images and sent to the Crown Court for trial. There were no indicative search terms on his computer and no other supporting evidence that H accessed this content intentionally. Nick commissioned an independent expert to assess the police expert’s report which was found to be flawed and following this the Crown offered no evidence on all charges days before the trial was listed.

R v A 2020 Crown Court: distribution of indecent images denied – making/possessing admitted. Distribution automatic via peer to peer software on Emule. Starting point 3 years imprisonment. Application to dismiss distribution - distribution would have been in packets and the Crown could not prove that an entire file was sent. Distribution dismissed. Sentence - 2 year community order, 5 year SHPO.

R v P and others 2020. Court of Appeal guideline case on the sentencing of sex offenders in cases where there is no victim i.e. undercover police officers or vigilantes.

W v Chief Constable of North Wales Police 2020. Administrative Court, Queens Bench Division. Judicial Review of decision of Chief Constable to impose a caution.

W v Chief Constable of North Wales Police 2020. Contesting decision of Chief Constable in respect of a Sexual Risk Order.

D v Crown Prosecution Service 2019. Administrative Court, Queens Bench Division, Judicial Review of decision of Crown Prosecution Service refusing to divert juvenile away from prosecution in respect of indecent images offences.

H v R 2019. Court of Appeal. Appeal length of Sexual Harm Prevention order.

R v H 2019. Crown Court. Trial on historical sexual offences.

R v O 2019. Crown Court. Trial on indecent images offences. Expert evidence and legal submissions resulted in Crown ending the case days before trial. Not Guilty verdicts.

R v M 2019. Crown Court. Sentence for offences of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. Undercover police officer posing as child. Client avoided a custodial sentence.

R v W 2019. Crown Court. Sentence for offences of sexual communication with a child and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. Vigilante croup posing as child. Vulnerable defendant with schizophrenia and autism.

R v T 2019: South Wales Police. Indecent images case. No evidence defendant had deliberately and intentionally made indecent images. No further action taken.

Interests

When Nicholas isn’t working he is likely to either be out riding his motorbike, (avoiding his many DIY tasks), listening to his music collection or trying to find a quiet corner in his favourite coffee shop with a crossword and cake.

Nicholas has travelled widely in South East Asia and Europe.