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Neil Fox found not guilty of all sexual offence allegations

By | Published on Tuesday 15 December 2015

Neil Fox

Neil Fox has been found not guilty of all ten sexual offence charges against him at the conclusion of his trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday. He said that he had “been vindicated”, although his future as a radio presenter is not yet clear.

The broadcaster was accused of eight counts of indecent assault and two of sexual assault against six women between 1988 and 2014. The youngest of his accusers was fourteen at the time of the alleged incident.

As previously reported, Fox was initially arrested in September 2014 at the studios of Magic FM, where he then worked, on allegations made by two separate women. Further women later came forward, a mixture of former colleagues and women who had been teenage fans at the time of the alleged incidents. A number of charges were dropped at the beginning of the trial, leaving the ten of which he has now been found not guilty.

In total the court heard from 50 witnesses, many reporting the alleged attacks in detail. At one point the court was told that Fox sometimes had to leave awards ceremonies early because there was “too much pussy”, while he himself defended bending a female colleague over a desk and simulating sex as “physical banter”.

In its ruling the court said that it “believed each of the complainants”, but that “the question we must ask is whether we are sure of the 45 facts alleged, sure of the context in which they occurred, and sure that they amount to criminal offences”.

Ultimately, the magistrates felt that this was not a conclusion that they could confidently reach. “In the case of the most recent allegation, we are sure it happened but are not sure that it amounts to the criminal offence of sexual touching”, they said in their ruling. “In the other cases, we either cannot be sure the incident occurred as described, or we cannot be sure that in the context it was a criminal offence, namely indecent assault, or in one case sexual touching”.

They continued: “This is not to go back on our original assessment that we believed the witnesses and accept that they had attended to tell us the truth as they remember it. Nor should this verdict be taken as a criticism of the decision to bring this prosecution. It was a strong case and one that needed to be brought to the court for determination”.

What this means for Fox now is unclear. After his initial arrest, Magic FM owner Bauer said that he would be going “off air” to “enable him to devote his full attention to dealing with these matters. All other aspects of his contract will remain unchanged while matters are resolved”. Following the conclusion of the trial yesterday, Fox said that he “cannot wait to be broadcasting again”.

However, in a statement, a Bauer spokesperson said that Fox’s return to Magic was not yet assured: “We will be taking some time to reflect on the outcome of the trial and we have no further comment to make at this stage”.



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