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 one charge of rape and two charges of indecent assault. Additionally, he denied an alternate charge of attempted rape. The purported incidents occurred in the Hammersmith and Fulham area of west London between September 6 and 12 in 1987.
George is scheduled to return to court on September 30 for the setting of a trial date. He was granted bail by Judge Alexander Milne KC. In 2000, George was previously arrested on suspicion of the murder of TV presenter Jill Dando, who was tragically killed on April 26, 1999, outside her home in Fulham, west London. Although he was convicted in 2001, his conviction was overturned in November 2007 by the Court of Appeal. After a retrial, a jury acquitted him in August 2008.
Jill Dando, aged 37 and a former Crimewatch presenter, was a prominent figure at the BBC. To date, no one has been convicted of her murder.