The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Pop stars hail 1968 indecent assault acquittal
‘Black cloud’ lifted from Tremeloes
Leonard “Chip” Hawkes, the bassist and a vocalist from the 1960s pop group The Tremeloes, said he and fellow band member Richard Westwood were “absolutely over the moon” after being acquitted of indecently assaulting a teenage girl after a gig almost 50 years ago. The pair had been due to stand trial next year to face allegations that they assaulted a 15year-old girl in a hotelroom after a concert inChester in April 1968.
But a judge at Reading Crown Court ordered both men to be found not guilty after the prosecution said it had no evidence to offer.
Mr Hawkes, 70, father of Nineties pop star Chesney, said outside the court that the pair were were delighted thata“blackcloud” hadbeen taken away by the verdict.
He said: “The past two years and seven months have been the worst time of our lives.
“Our families have had to endurethe stressandmedia publicity and it’s taken its tollonall of us.” MrHawkes, who has been battling bone cancer, said the case had badly damaged his career and revealed he had even been attacked by amember of the public before a previous court appearance.
Flanked by his wife Carol, he thanked the two men’s families, friends and fans for their “unfailing loyalty and putting up with two grumpy old men”.
Mr Westwood, The Tremeloes guitarist who sanglead vocalsonthe 1967 number one single Silence Is Golden, said his 50-year career had been “tarnished” on the basis of “spurious allegations” and that the accusations had caused “years of trauma”.
In a statement read by his solicitor Victoria Gregory, he said: “It is too late formeandmy family to get back the years of our life that have been destroyed. We were punished and suffered for something that was simply not true.”
The 73-year-old said he had faced trial bymedia before police had even gathered their evidence, and said: “It is a disgrace and whollymisleadingthatasingle claim dating back more than 48 years ago was never properly investigated before my good character was attacked. The police must do more to strike the right balance in these cases.”
The allegations emerged in May 2013 when a woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, approached Staffordshire Police, specifically mentioned the Jimmy Savile case as prompting her.