Barry George, a 66-year-old man from County Cork, Republic of Ireland, has refuted allegations of raping a 14-year-old girl nearly four decades ago. He entered a plea of not guilty at Southwark Crown Court to a single charge of rape and two counts of indecent assault, along with denying an attempted rape charge. The purported incidents occurred in the Hammersmith and Fulham area of west London between September 6 and 12 in 1987.
George, who was previously acquitted of the murder of TV presenter Jill Dando, is scheduled to return to court on September 30 to determine a trial date. Bail was granted to George by Judge Alexander Milne KC following the hearing.
In 2000, George was arrested on suspicion of Dando’s murder, which took place in 1999. Although he was initially convicted in 2001, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision in November 2007, leading to his full acquittal by a jury in August 2008 following a retrial.
Jill Dando, a former Crimewatch presenter, was tragically shot outside her residence in Fulham, west London, on April 26, 1999, at the age of 37. To date, no one has been convicted of her murder.