The High Court has refused to stop the prosecution of a 75-year-old man on five indecent assault charges arising from alleged incidents dating from the 1980s.
The applicant, identified only as F., sought judicial review preventing his trial on the basis of delay, missing evidence and longstanding memory and cognitive difficulties. The complainant alleges that the offences occurred between June 1981 and May 1986, when she was aged between 14 and 19.
Ms Justice Bolger said the central question was whether the passage of time had created a real or serious risk that F. could not receive a fair trial.
F. pointed to the deaths of two of his aunts and the complainant’s mother, as well as the absence of employment records which he said could have helped test aspects of the complainant’s account. He also relied on medical evidence showing longstanding memory problems and a 2021 diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.
The court found no blameworthy prosecutorial delay. The complainant first reported the allegations in June 2017, F. was interviewed that November and charged in May 2019.
The judge also found that the missing employment records did not establish irreparable prejudice. No legal obligation existed at the relevant time to retain such records, while two former co-workers of the complainant remained available for questioning.
The deaths of the proposed witnesses did not justify halting the prosecution either. One aunt died before the period of alleged offending had ended, while the complainant’s mother had developed Alzheimer’s by 2011 at the latest, limiting the likelihood that an earlier prosecution would have secured useful evidence from her.
On F.’s health, the court noted that doctors had not diagnosed dementia or rapid cognitive deterioration. Any difficulties affecting his ability to participate could, if necessary, be managed by the trial judge.
The application was therefore refused. The judgment does not determine whether F. is guilty or innocent; those matters remain for the criminal trial.