Man Acquitted Of All 11 Allegations, Including Defilement Of A Girl Under 16, After DPP Offers No Evidence Mid-trial

By Alric Lindsay

A man who had denied eleven charges, among them defilement of a girl under 16, assault by penetration and indecent assault, was acquitted in the Grand Court this afternoon, August 25, 2026, after the Crown Counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions offered no evidence against him.

The trial had opened on Monday before Justice Richards. It ended a day later, on the prosecution’s own application, part-way through the complainant’s evidence.

Crown counsel asked the court for fifteen minutes, and the jury was sent to the jury room. When it returned, the prosecution told the court that in light of the statements made by the complainant, including in a video the jury had seen, the Crown would offer no evidence.

Justice Richards directed the jury that in those circumstances it must return verdicts of not guilty. The forewoman did so on each count. The defendant was discharged and released from his bail conditions, and left the court a free man.

Defence counsel for the man was Oliver Grimwood.

Note to readers

A verdict of not guilty entered on the direction of a judge carries exactly the same weight as one reached by a jury after deliberation. The defendant leaves without a conviction and without a finding of any kind against him, having spent the period before trial subject to bail conditions and electronic monitoring.

The question the collapse raises is an earlier one — what assessment was made of the evidence before eleven charges were laid, and whether what ended the trial on its second day was apparent on the file before it began.