David Bryant spent two-and-a-half years in prison for a crime he did not commit and the horror first unfolded when a disturbing letter was hand-delivered to his home
A married couple were enjoying “living life to the full” when a letter was hand-delivered to their home — and things were never the same again. David Bryant and his wife Lynn lived in Christchurch, Dorset, and they were respected and beloved members of the community.
Many looked up to David for being a former fire chief but he and his wife were horrified in 2012 when they received a letter accusing him of a sex attack on a teenage boy in the 1970s, when he would have been 26. Despite the allegations being false, David was eventually jailed for it, after a jury found him guilty of the so-called sex attack.
His heartbreaking story has now been told in a new Channel 4 series called The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt. For reasons that will become clear later in this story, neither David or Lynn were able to speak in the documentary, but people closely associated with the couple did appear.
This included Alex Stanley who knew them for 30 years. She said her friends had a strong relationship and they were incredibly close. But speaking about the shock letter, Alex added: “It was a Sunday. Lynn had rung and said ‘can we come round’. I think it was in the afternoon. But something in her voice didn’t sound… Lynn was normally quite upbeat.
“She came round and she said, ‘We’ve had this letter put through the door…’” The letter was from a man called Danny Day who came forward following the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile scandal. He claimed David sexually assaulted him between January 1976 and December 1978.
The letter partly read: “Dave, it’s Danny Day. 35 years ago I used to collect the glasses in the Legion. And I am the one you played darts with in the fire station. At six o’clock tonight I’m going to the fire station to report what went on. And at 7, I’m going to the national papers. I think it’s time you and me had a chat. I think this is in your interest to call. One way or another you will pay for what you had done in late ’76 or early ’77.”
David was completely puzzled by the accusation and his friend, Simon Stanley, said he was “unconsolable” and “absolutely in bits”. Lynn’s cousin meanwhile, Julie Goodman, revealed: “When the allegation came out, Lynn said to him at the time, ‘I’m only ever going to ask you this once, did you do it?’
“Dave went ‘absolutely not’ she went ‘right okay we are going to fight this then.’” Alex had no doubts about David’s innocence and she described him as a “quiet gentle soul” who would not even swear in front of her. However, despite telling police he was innocent, he was charged with the rape of the teenager in May 2013.
In tears, Alex remembered: “You are just in disbelief, you are just in shock, you don’t know whether you’re supposed to feel upset, you don’t know whether you are supposed to feel angry, but then you just think of Dave.” Julie meanwhile added: “There was just no words. There was no words. Beyond belief really.”
David, who was made an honorary freeman of Christchurch, was jailed for six years in 2014 after being convicted of buggery of a boy aged between 12 and 15.
He was also put on the sex offenders’ register for life before his sentence was actually extended from six years to eight-and-a-half years because the original ruling was declared “unduly lenient”. However, when new evidence about the credibility of the supposed victim came to light two years later, judges at London’s Court of Appeal overturned the conviction.
They described the original conviction as “unsafe” after fresh material showed that “over a period from 2000 to 2010 the complainant in this case had to seek medical attention from his GP in relation to what can only be described as his being a chronic liar”. A High Court judge also said that his accuser made “false allegations to seek personal attention and drama”.
After getting his freedom back four years after the life-shattering letter arrived, David, who was accused of carrying out the attack alongside another man who had since passed, said: “It was a living hell… you’ve got to fight so hard to prove you are innocent.” Remembering the moment David’s conviction was quashed, Julie said: “God, the relief… the relief. It was bittersweet really because it should never have happened but finally they believed us. Finally someone has listened.”
Former detective Sean Memory meanwhile said: “I have no doubt that David Day potentially at some point in his life has been the victim of crime. It’s just that he decided, for reasons unknown, to pick on someone of prominence, which probably tied into the Jimmy Savile case.”
David, aged in his mid 60s when he was cleared of rape, and Lynn tried to get back into a normal routine but according to Julie, the ex-firefighter took a bit of adjusting. However, just over six months after being released from prison, his beloved wife Lynn died of sepsis.
His solicitor remarked: “So you’ve had your liberty taken away from you and then you’ve had your wife taken away from you. You can’t give back the time that he lost behind bars and you can’t give him back Lynn.” Two years after the funeral, friends started noticing a change in Dave, especially when he spoke about Lynn like she was still alive or would fail to recognise a long-term pal.
He was eventually diagnosed with dementia and he now receives 24-hour care. And out of the nine years he has been out of prison, five of those have involved living with the incurable condition.
In an emotional message in the Channel 4 documentary, which is now available to stream, Alex, who continues to visit David, said: “He is a good man, he is a lovely man, he is a good gentle soul, and he didn’t deserve what he got and the least we can do is make him comfortable and happy.”
The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt is available to watch on Channel 4 now.