A former Olympic coach has pleaded not guilty to 19 charges of rape and sexual assault against a child, in a case that has exposed severe delays in the UK court system.
Not Guilty Plea Entered at Manchester Crown Court
Jose Vicente Leiva-Modahl, 65, appeared at Manchester Crown Court on Monday where he denied all allegations against him. The defendant, who is married to former Commonwealth 800m champion Diane Modahl and previously coached Britain's athletics team, faces charges spanning a 12-year period between 2012 and 2024.
All the alleged offences relate to a single female who cannot be identified for legal reasons. The charges include five counts of rape, four counts of assault by penetration, six counts of sexual assault, two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity and one count of coercive or controlling behaviour.
Three-Year Wait for Trial Due to Court Backlogs
In a development that highlighted the pressure on the justice system, Judge Nicholas Dean KC adjourned the trial until September 4, 2028 - a wait of three years. He described this as the first available date for the case to be heard by a jury.
Judge Dean expressed his frustration, stating: 'It is with a heavy heart that I adjourn any trial for an amount of three years, but that's the state of play at the moment.' He added that the situation represented a 'stark contrast' to if the defendant was in custody, in which case the trial could have been scheduled for summer next year.
The judge granted Modahl bail until a further pre-trial hearing on June 8 next year, instructing the defendant's solicitors to seek an earlier trial date should one become available.
Stringent Bail Conditions Imposed
Modahl, who was arrested at an airport upon returning to the UK from Spain, must comply with strict bail conditions. These include:
- Residing at an address in the Warrington area
- Abiding by an electronic monitoring curfew from 9pm to 7am
- Not contacting any witnesses in the case
- Surrendering his Spanish passport and not applying for any travel documents
- Having no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18
The governing body UK Athletics has suspended Modahl pending the outcome of the legal proceedings. The case continues to develop as the court system struggles with what Judge Dean described as 'a very significant volume of work' causing unprecedented delays in serious criminal cases.
