New rape case debacle as Oxford student is cleared
AN OXFORD University student yesterday became the latest accused rapist to have his case dropped after police disclosed vital evidence just days before his trial was due to start.
After two years on bail, Oliver Mears, 19, was cleared of raping a woman in an alleged attack in 2015.
A diary which helped to undermine the prosecution case was only handed over by police last week.
His formal acquittal is the latest in a series of rape prosecutions abandoned in the past few weeks.
Judge Jonathan Black criticised police for failing to investigate Mr Mears’s case properly and for unnecessary delays. In a stinging rebuke, he demanded a full explanation within 28 days from the Crown Prosecution Service about what went wrong.
Judge Black said he will then decide whether any action is required “at CPS or police level”.
Mr Mears had been forced to suspend his studies at St Hugh’s College due to stress.
He was just 17 when he was accused of raping the woman at a party in Surrey on the eve of getting his A-level results.
Detectives took two years to investigate the allegation and Crown lawyers acknowledged it was a “finely balanced case”.
Mr Mears’s lawyers complained about failure to disclose evidence, including social media material, which would prove his innocence.
Officers were still handing over fresh material last week.
Sarah Lindop, prosecuting at Guildford Crown Court, said there were “some disclosure matters” and new material “tips the balance” in favour of Mr Mears. The prosecution, she said, formally offered no evidence.
Judge Black said: “Both Oliver Mears and the complainant have had this matter hanging over their heads for two years in circumstances, had the investigation been carried out properly in the first instance, would not have led to this position.”
Mr Mears’s ordeal comes after the collapse of three cases prompted searching questions about the way police and the CPS pursue rape prosecutions.
Amid warnings of serious miscarriages of justice, Scotland Yard has launched a review of all its sex crime investigations where a suspect had been charged.