Barry George, the man acquitted of the murder of TV presenter Jill Dando, has pleaded not guilty to raping a 14-year-old girl in 1987. The 66-year-old, from County Cork in the Republic of Ireland, appeared via video-link at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.
George denied one count of rape, two counts of indecent assault, and an alternative charge of attempted rape. The alleged offences occurred in the Hammersmith and Fulham area of west London between September 6 and 12, 1987.
Judge Alexander Milne KC granted George bail. A trial date is expected to be set at the next hearing on September 30.
George was previously convicted in 2001 for the murder of Jill Dando, a BBC Crimewatch presenter shot outside her home in Fulham in 1999. However, his conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2007, and he was cleared by a jury in a retrial in August 2008.
