From a very young age Kristian has been a gentle person whom everyone liked. When he was a baby he was so cuddly that people kept wanting to pick him up and cuddle him. Like his brothers Kristian has been brought up to be honest and considerate to others as well as motivated and dedicated to duty.

From when he was around 11 years old, when he had his bike stolen by a thug, he wanted to be a police officer. After taking A-levels at Holy Cross College, he went to Manchester Metropolitan University to read Criminology and Sociology, but did not complete the course as he wanted to join the police. He worked at McDonald's for a couple of years whilst preparing and waiting for his application to be successful. Once he joined he was always dedicated and smart and constantly held the highest arrest rate for his division. He has received several commendations during his 4 years of service and it is quite in keeping with his nature, that he would not shirk the onerous task of ensuring that yet another delinquent girl was returned to her place of safety.

This would be behind his thinking in respect of the allegations made against him. It is in his nature to always try hard no matter what the nature of the task. When on holiday with us in France, he has always risen to whatever task we have placed before him even when it involved new tasks such as tiling a large patio. His devotion to getting the job done not only properly, but in the right way has always made me proud to be his father. I have always known Kristian to be a calm and considerate person who thinks of others before himself. I think, as do most right-minded people, that the horrendous error that was the verdict on November 5th was so wrong as to be almost farcical.

When my wife and I came into Court at the beginning of the trial, we held the firm belief that the prosecution had to prove their case and that the defendant was innocent until proven guilty. We were also naive to suppose that, in the 21st century, the British justice system would not allow for the wrongful and malicious conviction of someone whom the prosecution's evidence proves to be innocent. How wrong we were. The defence was abysmal, the judge could and should have stopped the trial but didn't whilst Greater Manchester Police would rather see an innocent man go to jail than admit that one of their so-called “professional standards branch” is guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, perjury and failing to investigate the allegations with a fair and open mind.

It is my belief that Kristian is innocent of the charges and that this will one day be proven, and that throughout this ordeal, although he has been in a state of shock that the one thing he wanted so badly has turned so badly against him, he will carry himself proudly and with dignity safe in the knowledge that as always he is loved and cared about by everyone that knows him.

It is a credit to Kristian that many people have been in touch with him since the conviction and that not one of those people have had anything bad to say about him. Indeed, a former work colleague of mine, approached my eldest son in Manchester and said that he had read the account about Kristian in the local media and that it was “complete and utter crap”

Everyone who knows Kristian thinks he is a really nice and good person and, set against the appalling character of his accuser he is the one that most people believe.

David Abbott

Father of Kristian Abbott