Six men have begun trial at Bristol Crown Court, accused of doing exactly the sort of thing that usually makes headlines, except this time you're not allowed to know who they are or what they allegedly did.
The defendants are allegedly part of a larger group who spent several years grooming and sexually assaulting vulnerable teenage girls in the city. All six deny the charges, which involve “multiple complainants.” The trial is expected to run for 12 weeks, but reporting restrictions mean full details - including the defendants' names - remain under wraps.
Media organisations, including The Guardian, challenged the restrictions. Judge Macmillan, overseeing the trial, allowed some information to be reported, acknowledging “public concern about ‘grooming gangs’” and a “particular public interest” in transparency. However, she stopped short of lifting the gag entirely.
Earlier this year, the prosecution successfully applied for a postponement of all reporting until verdicts were returned, arguing it risked prejudice to justice. This week, media outlets pushed back, citing open justice. But the judge wasn't convinced, citing a “significant risk” that witnesses' evidence could be contaminated by contemporaneous reporting.
“Given the level of public interest this trial is likely to attract, I am satisfied that any contemporaneous reporting of evidence in this trial is likely to come to the attention of witnesses and would result in a significant risk of witness contamination,” she said. “This, in turn, would undermine the prospect of a fair trial.”
So, for now, the public can know the trial exists and vaguely what it's about - just not the pesky specifics that might actually inform public debate.