ANOTHER CELEBRITY SEX CASE FIASCO
Judge savages police ‘debacle’ as Jonathan King case collapses She attacks force for failing to disclose crucial evidence ... and says they were trying to salvage reputation after Savile
POLICE were savaged yesterday for their disastrous handling of Jonathan King’s fourth trial on child abuse charges.
The record producer, who had already served seven years for molesting children, went in the dock again in June accused of grooming 11 starstruck boys.
But proceedings were halted because detectives had failed to disclose evidence and covered up investigatory blunders.
In a withering ruling, Judge Deborah Taylor blasted police and prosecutors. She said Surrey Police pursued the case not in the interests of justice but to repair the damage to their reputation over failings in the Jimmy Savile case.
The county’s crime commissioner last night announced an urgent review, saying alleged victims had been failed.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, was blamed by MPs last month over a raft of sex attack cases collapsing due to disclosure errors. Yesterday it emerged that: Officers hid evidence undermining victims’ allegations and misled the court;
Police covered up a secret report in 2014 criticising their investigatory methods;
A detective turned TV journalist allegedly offered to sell the names of King’s accusers;
Surrey Police face a potential damages claim from the former DJ who was on bail for three years;
Senior officers issued an unreserved apology, saying defendant and complainants had not been heard in court;
King announced he would seek to overturn his 2001 conviction.
The 73-year-old was once one of the most influential men in music, having discovered Genesis and presented many TV shows. His career collapsed when he was jailed in 2001 for sexually assaulting five teenage boys. He was acquitted in a second, linked trial, and a third was abandoned.
Surrey Police, which investigated the case, later faced severe criticism for failing to uncover the crimes of Savile. In 2014 they asked the Merseyside force to review the handling of the original King case. This revealed flaws, while also suggesting that some victims may not have achieved justice.
Surrey responded with a fresh inquiry into King and he was arrested again in 2015.
A new trial started at Southwark Crown Court and two alleged victims gave evidence. The jury was discharged on June 27 after the scale of errors in disclosure of evidence became clear.
Two days later Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Hayes, the sen- ior investigating officer, went off sick due to ‘mental illness’. Prosecutors tried to resolve the disclosure issues but yesterday the Crown Prosecution Service announced it would not seek a retrial. Judge Taylor said the case had been reopened only because of the Savile fiasco.
She said: ‘This is not, therefore, a case which has been driven by complainants’ allegations, under the banner of justice for the victims, but by concerns about reputational damage to Surrey police in the wake of the Savile case and consequent Merseyside investigation.’
Describing the disclosure errors as a ‘debacle’, the judge added: ‘The integrity of the criminal justice system and processes have been undermined publicly in a fundamental way by the disclosure failures and persistent misleading of the court.’
The unpublished Merseyside report said officers did not tape full interviews and used short notes and answers to victim questionnaires for statements typed up days or weeks later. The report warned this practice could undermine other prosecutions.
In 2014 Surrey Police also learnt that former detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who helped run the original inquiry and is now an investigative journalist, was offering to sell information on – and introductions – to King’s victims.
The judge said this meant King should never have been charged on evidence taken by Mr WilliamsThomas. Detectives also failed to log their contacts with victims and witnesses and misled a magistrates to get a search warrant.
They did not disclose key matters to the defence including medical evidence about a victim undermining his own testimony.
David Munro, Surrey police and crime commissioner, said: ‘It is clear to me there were fundamental failures in the disclosure process which have resulted in the decision to dismiss what was an important trial involving alleged victims of serious sexual offences.
‘I am very sorry for all those involved who have been badly let down by this unacceptable and troubling situation. They have been denied the opportunity for a fair trial due to the undoubted shortcomings of disclosure which have been laid bare.
‘I am extremely disappointed and have contacted the Chief Constable and already spoken to the Deputy Chief Constable. We are in agreement that a thorough independent review must be commissioned immediately.’ The wife of the 62-year-old man who was the first person to report King to police said he was devastated by the collapse of the case.
She said: ‘He has been waiting 18 years for justice. We have been in limbo, waiting for closure.’
A Surrey Police spokesman said: ‘We recognise that there were serious organisational failings in the investigation, particularly in relation to disclosure process and we will continue to study the judge’s ruling in detail.’ The force said it had been a complex investigation running over several years and involving an ‘enormous’ amount of data and documentation.
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘During the trial the police made us aware of issues with their handling of disclosure in the case. We asked the court to dismiss the jury and worked with the police to remedy this ahead of a retrial.
‘We appreciate today’s decision will be upsetting for the complainants and will contact them to explain our decision not to appeal.’
Last night King tweeted: ‘Spread the word – Jonathan King not guilty on all charges – now we get those wrongful convictions from 2001 overturned.’
‘Waiting 18 years for justice’