John Leslie's accuser is a 'tragic recluse whose life fell apart after alleged rape 13 years ago'

13 April 2012

A woman who has accused former Blue Peter star John Leslie of raping her 13 years ago is now a jobless recluse whose life fell apart after the alleged attack, a friend claimed today.

The 33-year-old woman told police that Leslie raped her at a party at his London home in 1995.

He vigorously denied the allegation yesterday after voluntarily attending a police station to answer questions, claiming it was the 'mother of all stitch-ups'.

Television presenter John Leslie mocks the waiting photographers as he leaves a friend's house in Southfields, South West London today

Television presenter John Leslie mocks the waiting photographers as he leaves a friend's house in Southfields, South West London today

It is the second time the presenter, now a successful property developer, has been accused of sexual assault.

A friend of the alleged victim told The Sun: 'In 1995, she was a stunning girl - blonde, slim, a proper head turner. She was just 20 and studying at university.

'She was really bookish and into her course, she had the world at her feet.'

The man at the centre of another rape allegation, John Leslie,dfrove away from the London house in dark shades and refused to comment to reporters earlier today

The man at the centre of another rape allegation, John Leslie,dfrove away from the London house in dark shades and refused to comment to reporters earlier today

He added that the woman had been excited about going to the alleged John Leslie party.

'She had a steady boyfriend at the time and he just thought it would be a pretty rubbish TV event full of luvvies,' he said.

He said her drinking 'spiralled out of control' after that night. 'They split up and she lost custody of her kid because of alcoholism.

Bitter: John Leslie outside his solicitors' office yesterday

Bitter: John Leslie outside his solicitors' office yesterday

'Two years ago she moved back in with her parents. She doesn't work and is a virtual recluse,' he said.

Police arrested the ex-Blue Peter presenter on Monday night after a woman claimed he attacked her 13 years ago.

Leslie, who was cleared of two counts of indecent assault in 2003, said yesterday: 'I do not even know who this person is.

Cleared: Leslie with his then girlfriend Abi Titmuss and mother Lexia after he was acquitted of indecent assault in 2003

Cleared: Leslie with his then girlfriend Abi Titmuss and mother Lexia after he was acquitted of indecent assault in 2003

'I am asked to recall events from one night in November 1995. I defy anyone to remember what they were doing 13 years ago on a particular night.

'However, I certainly did not attack this person as I have never attacked anyone. The accusation is totally untrue.'

The 43-year-old, whose career was wrecked by sex and drug allegations after being named as the alleged rapist of Ulrika Jonsson, was questioned by police for 30 minutes on Monday.

He had arrived, by appointment, at Teddington police station in South West London  -  headquarters of a regional sex crimes unit.

Photographers from a tabloid newspaper captured Leslie's visit, during which detectives took his photograph, fingerprints and a DNA swab before releasing him on bail until August.

Tainted friendship: Leslie with Ulrika Jonsson on TV in 1993

Tainted friendship: Leslie with Ulrika Jonsson on TV in 1993

His alleged victim has told police Leslie forced himself on her at his house in East Sheen, South-West London, after inviting her and a group of friends back for a party.

The alleged assault took place seven years before Leslie became embroiled in the sex scandal that cost him his television career.

It is unclear why the woman, in her early 20s when she claimed she was raped and a friend of someone on the periphery of the entertainment scene, has only recently made a complaint.

Police sources said it was almost certain Leslie would not be charged, given the time elapsed and because it is one word against another.

John Leslie with former co-host Fern Britton when he worked in his £250,000 a year job on This Morning

John Leslie with former co-host Fern Britton when he worked in his £250,000 a year job on This Morning

Leslie, who is a former boyfriend of Catherine Zeta Jones, angrily dismissed the allegations when he appeared outside his solicitors' London offices.

He said: 'Five years ago I helped the police complete a thorough investigation into malicious claims against me.

'As I was found innocent on all charges I had hoped that the police would have been able to conduct their investigation in confidence, and that I would not be pre-judged.

'Regrettably, as has happened in the past, the details of a private police inquiry have been leaked to the press and once again I face trial by media.'

Former star: Leslie with fellow Blue Peter presenters in 1993

Former star: Leslie with fellow Blue Peter presenters in 1993

A year before his court ordeal he appeared to have it all, with 1,000 fan letters a week and a lucrative £250,000-a-year salary as co-presenter with Fern Britton on ITV's This Morning.

But his world fell apart within days when Ulrika Jonsson released her autobiography, Honest, in October 2002 in which she revealed she had been raped 15 years earlier in a hotel room while she was a TV weathergirl.

She did not identify her attacker, merely saying he was a well-known presenter.

After days of speculation, Leslie was accidentally named as the alleged rapist by Matthew Wright on his Channel Five show.

Granada, makers of This Morning, initially sent Leslie on leave but within weeks he was sacked  -  after photographs in a Sunday newspaper appeared to expose him as a cocaine user.

As a result of the publicity, a stream of women came forward to accuse him of sexual assaults and making crude advances.

He was arrested in December 2002 and the following June charged with two counts of indecent assault against a woman between May 25 and May 27, 1997.

He was not charged with offences against Miss Jonsson.

The charges carried a maximum sentence of ten years in prison but in August 2003 the allegations against him were dramatically dropped on the eve of the trial.

Prosecutors said they would be offering no evidence after receiving 'new information' about his accuser.

The tearful TV presenter emerged from court, then girlfriend Abi Titmuss at his side, and later said: 'I could not be sure this day would turn out this way. I was ready to go to prison for something I did not do.

'I am an innocent man. I've maintained my innocence throughout and it has been justified.'

Leslie, who now lives in Edinburgh working as a property developer, said he had contemplated suicide after being branded a 'vile monster'.

After he was cleared he told an interviewer: 'To be frank, the only thing that has happened in this whole thing is that a lot of women have made a lot of money out of me. And not one of their allegations has been proved.

'The only set pattern was I maybe didn't treat women with the respect I should have in terms of phoning them back and being more honest with them and more genuine, but that is no crime. I don't think that I deserved what I got in the end.

John Leslie's full statement:

John Leslie labelled the latest allegations 'a trial by the media'

John Leslie labelled the latest allegations 'a trial by the media'

Wearing an open necked pink shirt revealing a gold chain, Rolex watch, faded blue jeans and brown loafers, Leslie greeted the barrage of TV cameras, press photographers and reporters with an ironic 'Hello there, how are you?'

'Yesterday I attended Teddington Police Station by appointment. I was arrested on suspicion of a crime that was allegedly committed in 1995.

'I was interviewed for 30 minutes and released on bail.

'Five years ago I helped the police complete a thorough investigation into malicious claims against me.

'As I was found innocent on all charges I had hoped that the police would have been able to conduct their investigation in confidence, and that I would not be prejudged.

'Regrettably, as has happened in the past, the details of a private police inquiry have been leaked to the press and once again I face trial by media.

'It is thus with a mixture of anger and distress that I am forced yet again to talk about lies about my private life.

'Lies that destroyed my public career in 2003 and which now threaten the private life which I have been happy to lead since then.

'I am accused of attacking a person 13 years ago. I do not even know who this person is.

'I am asked to recall events from one night in November 1995. I defy anyone to remember what they were doing 13 years ago on a particular night.

'However I certainly did not attack this person as I have never attacked anyone. The accusation is totally untrue.

'When, I ask, is this nightmare going to end? If it is considered acceptable to launch an investigation after 13 years, then why not 20 or 30 years?

'There was open season on me in 2003. I was subjected to an eight-month police inquiry. I was pilloried in the press.

'Finally, in October 2003, I was told by a Southwark Crown Court judge that I left the courtroom completely innocent and "without a stain on my character".

'Now, five years later, it all starts again. Another person, protected by the anonymity the law gives them, is able to drag my name through the mud.

'My mother and father are beside themselves with worry. So if I sound bitter it is because I am.

'There is little justice and no fairness in what I and my family have been and are being put through.

'I would appeal to the media now to leave me and my family alone and let the police complete their investigations in a proper manner.'

After his statement, as he turned to go back into the solicitors office, he added: 'It's the mother of all stitch-ups.'

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