Overview
- Prosecutors have charged Barry George, 65, with one count of rape and two counts of indecent assault over alleged offences in west London in September 1987 against a girl aged 14 at the time.
- Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring accepted a GP’s letter citing longstanding health issues and excused George’s attendance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
- The case was sent to the Old Bailey for November 26, when George is expected to appear via videolink, and he was granted unconditional bail until that hearing.
- The judge noted George lives in County Cork in the Republic of Ireland, which is outside the court’s jurisdiction, and prosecutors may seek an extradition after the next hearing.
- The CPS says the charges follow a Metropolitan Police investigation, with specially trained officers supporting the complainant, and reminds the public that proceedings are active; George’s earlier conviction for Jill Dando’s 1999 murder was quashed in 2007 and he was acquitted in 2008.