Kieran Hayler has been acquitted of raping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl when he was married to Katie Price, after a court heard he said the charges were part of a "smear campaign" against him by his ex-wife.
The 39-year-old was found not guilty of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault of the teenager in West Sussex in 2016 following a trial at Lewes Crown Court. He was also cleared of four alternative counts of sexual activity with a child.
Verdict and Reaction
The jury, made up of four men and six women, returned the verdicts after 14 hours and 55 minutes of deliberation. Mr Hayler cried in court and was doubled over as he was told by the judge he could leave the dock and was discharged.
Speaking to reporters outside court while supported by his mother, Mr Hayler thanked his friends and family who stuck by him "for five years of absolute hell". He said: "I'm grateful to the jury for their careful consideration of this difficult case. I'd like to be left in peace now to rebuild my life and spend time with my family."
Trial Tensions with Katie Price
His turbulent relationship with media personality Ms Price was laid bare during proceedings as he accused his ex-wife of setting him up with "fabricated" allegations. But Ms Price, who gave evidence against Mr Hayler, denied being "angry and vengeful" towards her ex-husband.
It can now be reported that Ms Price's first day of evidence during the trial led to Mr Hayler's defence team calling for the jury to be discharged, accusing her of a "premeditated attempt to bring down this trial". In a legal application to the judge, barrister Arlette Piercy argued that evidence given by Ms Price resulted in an "overwhelming tsunami of prejudice to us which we are simply unable to deal with".
Of Ms Price's evidence, some of which cannot be reported for legal reasons, the lawyer said: "She then went on a deliberate, malicious and in my submission, premeditated attempt to bring down this trial." She added that "the significance of it was written all over the jury's faces".
Legal Arguments and Ruling
Prosecutor Ryan Richter disputed the argument and instead suggested it was from the celebrity witness "having lost control". Judge Mark van der Zwart dismissed the legal bid and instead later gave the jury a warning that what she said was "not correct and you must disregard it".
In his ruling, the judge described Ms Price as "what barristers of a previous generation would have called a dangerous witness" with a personal agenda in proceedings and who was "liable to say something prejudicial given half a chance". "Discharging this jury was unlikely to prevent the same situation arising again at a re-trial," he said.
Mr Hayler also thanked his legal team for their "unwavering assistance throughout this extremely difficult time".
