#TheAccused: Sympathy runs dry for defendant at centre of new crime documentary

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By Katie King on

‘Sob stories worse than the X Factor

Viewers clearly had a lot to say about the “stupid” and “cocky” defendant at the centre of last night’s new Channel 5 crime documentary.

The Accused: An Inside Job followed the case of Łukasz, a (now former) personal banking advisor at Santander. Łukasz was accused of stealing £26,000 from an elderly client’s life savings. He protested his innocence throughout, claiming a conspiracy and arguing he’d be “an idiot” to allow all lines of inquiry to lead so seamlessly to him.

Legal Cheek reviewed the documentary before it aired last night, and we had a fair amount of sympathy for Łukasz and his plight. We said:

Whether you buy his defence or not, the devastating impact the charges had on Łukasz were plain to see. After internal banking investigators pointed the finger at Łukasz, the police froze his bank account, he lost his job and he lost his home. This had a huge emotional impact on the defendant, who revolted at the thought of his peers hearing about the case: ‘I don’t want people to think I’m the bad guy. I wouldn’t like them to see me that way.’

Last night, it became abundantly clear not everyone felt the same way. Viewers rushed to social media, using the hashtag #TheAccused, to make their feelings about the “greedy” defendant known:

SPOILER ALERT: Łukasz was eventually found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison. He appeared devastated by the verdict, and even suggested he was going to commit suicide. Again, the sympathy was lacking:

In and among the obvious vitriol there was the occasional light-hearted comment. We particularly liked this one comparing defence lawyer Greg Stewart to the Supervet:

The Supervet and Greg Stewart

And this comment on Łukasz’s train ride to Scotland to visit family:

Oh, and:

Missed it? You can watch The Accused: An Inside Job using Channel 5’s catch up service.

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