12:05pm Friday 1st August 2003
By Hannah Thorpe
TV presenter John Leslie walked free from Southwark Crown Court on Thursday morning after the prosecution offered no evidence against him in connection with two indecent assault allegations.
At a plea and directions hearing, the Crown informed the court that it would be offering no evidence against him. Leslie, 38, of East Sheen, former host of This Morning, was due to stand trial on two counts of indecent assault on a woman at his home in May 1997.
He was arrested in connection with the charges last December and on June 18 charged with two counts of indecent assault against a woman between May 25 and May 28, 1997.
Leslie was sacked from his position as co-presenter of This Morning. Reports in the national press said he had put up his East Sheen home up for sale, valued at £1.5 million, to cover legal costs and lost income and that he was also considering suing police.
Richard Horwell, counsel for the prosecution, told the court that Leslie was committed to Southwark by Bow Street Magistrates' Court on July 3.
He said that since then the prosecution had come into possession of further material leading to the charges against him being dropped and as a result, a decision had been taken to offer no evidence.
Offering the court, Mr Leslie and the general public an explanation, he said that the offer of no evidence was not an indication that Mr Leslie was guilty of crimes with which he had not been charged.
He said: "In offering no evidence against him the prosecution gladly acknow-ledge that he will leave this court without a stain on his character from this investigation."
The CPS statement also seemingly referred to allegations in the press last October arising from another television presenter's autobiography.
He said that whilst she was not prepared to identify her alleged assailant Mr Continued on page 2 From page one Leslie’s name was linked to the allegation. He said: "It is right to say that the person who made that original allegation chose not to co-operate with the police. Accordingly, that allegation remains no more than that: an allegation that the complainant chose not to substantiate."
He said that thereafter a number of other woman had come forward with allegations against Mr Leslie, many of them dating back over a number years. He said a number of those had gone directly to the press rather than to police and some of them had been unwilling to give evidence.
He said the accounts of those who did give evidence were subjected to careful scrutiny and a report was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.
He said that the CPS in considering whether to bring charges against Mr Leslie had to consider whether , in respect of each allegation made, there was a realistic prospect of the defendant being convicted and "In so deciding, the Crown Prosecution Service, had, inevitably to take account of the fact that the incidents had taken place several years earlier; the fact that the complainant had not come forward at the time; and a host of other factors that arose in respect of specific allegations."
He said the review process was lengthy and during this time Mr Leslie’s solicitors had submitted a large amount of material relating to the media coverage the allegations had attracted.
He said Mr Leslie was then told that they had decided to charge him with two offences of indecent assault relating to the same complainant and said to have taken place on the same night back in May 1997.
He said that whilst the decision to bring these charges was the result of a " thorough, pains-taking and professional investigation" by police this was an investigation into "the affairs of human beings" and therefore "always vulnerable to the possibility of developments, the precise nature of which can never be predicted".
He said that since Mr Leslie appeared at court new information from and relating to the complainant had come to light but declined to disclose the material in their duties to the complainant.
He said that as a result they would be reviewing the decision to prosecute and no longer felt that there is a realistic prospect of conviction in this case. He said that accordingly they had decided to offer no evidence against Mr. Leslie. He recommended that the court enter two verdicts of not guilty.
ends
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