In brief
Kieran Hayler, 39, was acquitted at Lewes Crown Court of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against a 13-year-old girl in West Sussex in 2016, and of four alternative counts of sexual activity with a child.
The jury of four men and six women returned its verdicts on 22 October after 14 hours and 55 minutes of deliberation.
After Katie Price's first day of evidence, Hayler's defence accused her of a premeditated attempt to bring down the trial, and Judge Mark van der Zwart dismissed the application.
The verdict
A jury at Lewes Crown Court acquitted Kieran Hayler, 39, of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against a 13-year-old girl. The offences were alleged to have happened in West Sussex in 2016, while Hayler was married to the media personality Katie Price. He was also cleared of four alternative counts of sexual activity with a child. The panel, made up of four men and six women, reached its verdicts after 14 hours and 55 minutes of deliberation. Hayler left the dock once the judge had told him he was discharged.
- Rape
- 3 counts
- Sexual assault
- 1 counts
- Alternative sexual activity with a child
- 4 counts
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The defence and the accusations
Throughout the trial Hayler maintained that Price had set him up with fabricated allegations, which he described as a smear campaign against him. Price gave evidence against him and rejected any suggestion that she was angry or vengeful towards her former husband. Some of her evidence cannot be reported for legal reasons. After her first day in the witness box, Hayler's defence team asked for the jury to be discharged, accusing her of a premeditated attempt to bring down the trial. Barrister Arlette Piercy told the judge that the evidence had produced a wave of prejudice the defence could not manage.
Prosecution response and ruling
Prosecutor Ryan Richter rejected that argument and suggested that Price had lost control while giving evidence. Judge Mark van der Zwart dismissed the defence application. He then told jurors that a remark made by Price was incorrect and that they must set it aside. The jury went on to deliberate on the eight counts against Hayler and return its verdicts. The case had been heard at Lewes Crown Court, where Hayler had been facing the rape and sexual assault allegations linked to 2016.
Hayler's reaction
Speaking to reporters outside court, with his mother beside him, Hayler thanked the friends and family who had stood by him through what he called 'five years of absolute hell'. He also thanked his legal team for their support during the case. In his remarks he said:
“I'm grateful to the jury for their careful consideration of this difficult case.”
He added that he wanted to be left in peace to rebuild his life and spend time with his family. Hayler's remarks came shortly after the verdicts were returned and the judge had ended his involvement in the case's final stage.