Freddie Starr: Prosecutors Will Not Charge Over Alleged Sexual Offences

Freddie Starr Will Not Be Charged With Sex Offences

Freddie Starr will not face charges over alleged sexual offences, prosecutors have confirmed.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced on Tuesday that there was "insufficient evidence" to charge the 71-year-old comic with all but one of the allegations against him.

Though there is sufficient evidence over one of the allegations, pursuing a prosecution was "not in the public interest", they said.

He had been on police bail since being arrested in November 2012 as part of Operation Yewtree.

Freddie Starr was arrested in 2012

Baljit Ubhey, the Chief Crown Prosecutor for London, said: “Having carefully reviewed this case, we have decided that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute Freddie Starr in relation to allegations of sexual offences made by 13 individuals.

"Each allegation was considered on its own merits and we have concluded that the available evidence does not offer a realistic prospect of conviction for any of the alleged offences.

“In relation to one further complainant, we have decided that although there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, according to the code for crown prosecutors, a prosecution would not be in the public interest.

He added: "It must be remembered that a determination by a prosecutor that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute under the code does not mean that the suspect is guilty of the offence.

"Prosecutors have to consider whether there is enough evidence to bring a case to trial but deciding whether an offence has been committed is entirely a matter for courts and juries and every suspect is innocent until proven guilty."

The CPS received initial material from the Metropolitan Police regarding the allegations in December 2012. The final evidence was submitted to the CPS in March.

Starr said he was at one point banned from being alone with his children while the allegations were investigated.

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