In a case that has captured public interest, two men, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, were recently convicted of the notorious act of cutting down the iconic Sycamore Gap tree located by Hadrian's Wall. This incident, which took place on September 27, 2023, brought the pair into the public eye. However, it has since emerged that Graham, 39, from Carlisle, and Carruthers, 32, from Wigton, were also suspects in a separate investigation concerning alleged homophobic assaults occurring around the same time.
The timeline of events surrounding the assaults began nine days before the tree-felling incident. A man, who remains unnamed for privacy reasons, reported experiencing a disturbing encounter at a layby in Cumbria, a known meeting spot for men seeking sexual encounters. According to the victim, he was approached by two individuals who subjected him to homophobic verbal abuse. The situation escalated when icing sugar was thrown into his car by the perpetrators, who then fled in their vehicle.
The victim promptly reported the incident to the police, providing them with a description of the assailants' vehicle and a partial registration number. Unfortunately, he was unable to identify the individuals involved. Despite his efforts, the victim expressed dissatisfaction with the police response, suggesting that initial evidence could have been used to check CCTV footage at the time. Cumbria Police, however, stated that checks performed using the registration number supplied by the victim did not yield fruitful results. The vehicle linked to the provided number plate, differing by just one letter from Graham’s car, had no record of being in Cumbria during the incident.
The investigation was described by Cumbria Police as "complex," and they asserted that all potential evidence avenues had been explored. In a turn of events, a police officer visited the victim in April 2024 to discuss a development in the case. Two men had been arrested, and video evidence related to the assaults was discovered on a phone belonging to one of them. The victim was shown a series of 10 to 12 videos depicting various men being subjected to homophobic abuse and having items thrown into their vehicles.
One particular video stood out to the victim as particularly distressing, as it featured another male victim whom he recognized. The victim described seeing evident fear in the man's eyes, emphasizing the severity and homophobic nature of the assaults. After helping the police identify some individuals from the videos and confirming his own appearance in some footage, the victim gave a formal statement in August 2024. Despite this, he was unable to definitively identify the driver in the videos.
The culmination of the investigation led to the arrest of Graham and Carruthers on suspicion of two assaults motivated by hate. By December 2024, a case was presented to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) involving three victims and six offenses. However, the CPS ultimately decided not to pursue charges. The decision was based on insufficient evidence, difficulties in identifying the perpetrators, and the significant time elapsed since the incidents occurred.
Frustrated by the outcome, the victim who spoke to the BBC decided to challenge the CPS decision through the Victims' Right to Review Scheme. This process required that he be informed of the suspects' identities. Emails exchanged with detectives, and reviewed by the BBC, revealed the names of the suspects as Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers. Upon learning their identities, the victim realized they were the same individuals convicted of the infamous Sycamore Gap tree-felling.
Despite the victim’s appeal, the initial decision not to prosecute Graham and Carruthers was upheld. The CPS emphasized its commitment to encouraging victims of hate crimes to report incidents to the police and reiterated its stance to prosecute whenever legal criteria are met.
Currently, Graham and Carruthers are on remand, awaiting sentencing for their role in cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree. When approached for comment regarding the assault allegations, no response was received from the pair.
This case highlights the complexities and challenges involved in prosecuting hate crimes, particularly when evidence is limited or becomes available only after significant time has elapsed. The story underscores the importance of timely investigations and the need for tenacity in pursuing justice for victims of hate-motivated offenses. The public remains attentive to the outcome of the sentencing for the tree-felling incident, while questions linger about the unresolved assault case.