Kieran Hayler has been found not guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in West Sussex in 2016, following a trial at Lewes Crown Court. The 39-year-old was acquitted of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, as well as four alternative counts of sexual activity with a child.
The jury, comprising four men and six women, reached its verdicts after 14 hours and 55 minutes of deliberation. Mr Hayler cried in court and doubled over as the judge told him he could leave the dock and was discharged.
Hayler thanks supporters after acquittal
Speaking to reporters outside court while supported by his mother, Mr Hayler thanked his friends and family who stood 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."
He also thanked his legal team for their "unwavering assistance throughout this extremely difficult time."
Claims of smear campaign and marriage details
During proceedings, Mr Hayler accused his ex-wife, media personality Katie Price, of setting him up with "fabricated" allegations, describing the charges as part of a "smear campaign" against him. Ms Price, who gave evidence against Mr Hayler, denied being "angry and vengeful" towards him.
The court heard that Mr Hayler and Ms Price were together for five weeks before getting engaged and married in the Bahamas in January 2013. Mr Hayler told jurors that "trust had gone on both sides" in the marriage by mid-2013, but the couple did not split until 2018, later divorcing in 2021. He stressed he was "attracted to older women" and admitted to affairs with three older women during the marriage.
Prosecution and defence evidence
Prosecutor Ryan Richter had put to Mr Hayler: "Your feud with Katie Price is not what this case is about, is it?" Mr Hayler replied: "It is." When Mr Richter said, "This case is about you having raped a girl, isn't it?" Mr Hayler responded: "I have not."
During his evidence, the personal trainer said he believed Ms Price was "coaching" the teenage girl after discovering messages she sent to her. He photographed messages on Ms Price's phone in which she talked to the girl about Hayler fancying her, adding: "I will make you a little star." Ms Price told the trial the phrase was a "figure of speech," but Mr Hayler called it a "very strange comment to make," saying: "Everyone can interpret it how they want, it's very pushy. I thought she was coaching her into (saying) something she shouldn't."
Mr Hayler's former partner, Michelle Pentecost, gave evidence as a defence witness, telling the court about "numerous threats" they received from Ms Price during their seven-year relationship. The 44-year-old said: "All the time she'll be throwing out threats, 'I'm going to make everyone think you're a paedo'."
Legal bid to discharge jury dismissed
It can now be reported that Ms Price's first day of evidence 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." Barrister Arlette Piercy argued that Ms Price's evidence resulted in an "overwhelming tsunami of prejudice to us which we are simply unable to deal with," adding that "the significance of it was written all over the jury's faces."
Prosecutor Mr Richter disputed the argument, suggesting the evidence came from the celebrity witness "having lost control." Judge Mark van der Zwart dismissed the legal bid and later warned the jury 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, adding: "Discharging this jury was unlikely to prevent the same situation arising again at a re-trial."
