The man who was sentenced to life behind bars for the fatal shooting of Jill Dando until his conviction was overturned has now denied raping a teen in the 1980s. Famous TV newsreader, Dando, was shot dead outside her home in Fulham, London, in 1999. Barry George was later sentenced to prison for the crime, until his liberation in 2007 after his conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeals. Now, the 66-year-old has been accused of raping a 14-year-old girl almost four decades ago.
The incidents are alleged to have taken place in the Hammersmith and Fulham area of west London between September 6 and 12, 1987. George, of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, pleaded not guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Monday to one count of rape and two counts of indecent assault. Appearing via video-link, he also denied an alternative offence of attempted rape, reports The Mirror. He will next appear at the court on September 30 for a trial date to be set. Judge Alexander Milne
KC granted George bail. George was arrested on suspicion of murder in 2000, a year after Ms Dando was killed. He was convicted in 2001, but the conviction was quashed in November 2007 by the Court of Appeal and he was cleared by a jury in August 2008 after a retrial. Former Crimewatch presenter Ms Dando, 37, was one of the BBC’s highest-profile stars when she was shot outside her home in Fulham, west London, on April 26, 1999. No-one has been convicted of her
killing since.
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