IMPRISONED BEFORE THE JURY HEARD THE CASE

In July 1994, Craig Charles was one of the most recognisable faces on British television. Red Dwarf had completed six series, won an International Emmy and made its leading actor a cult comedy star. Then Charles was arrested and charged with rape and indecent assault.

The allegation immediately became national news. Details about his private life, drug use and visits to strip clubs were published before a jury had considered whether any offence had occurred. Charles later complained that his name had appeared in newspapers before his accuser had completed a signed statement.

He was refused bail and remanded to Wandsworth Prison. For three and a half months, an unconvicted man was confined for up to 23 hours a day and required to use a bucket as a toilet in a shared cell. He was eventually released on bail, but the prosecution and its headlines remained.

Charles pleaded not guilty to every charge. His trial began at Southwark Crown Court in February 1995 and lasted two weeks. The prosecution presented the complainant’s account; the defence challenged it through cross-examination and evidence placed before the jury.

On 3 March 1995, the jury returned its decision. After deliberating for one hour and 43 minutes, it found Charles and his co-defendant not guilty on every count. Charles broke down in tears. Outside court, he described the preceding nine months as a nightmare for himself and his family.

The verdict restored his legal innocence, but it could not reverse the punishment imposed before trial. Charles had lost his liberty, had his private life dissected and had been publicly associated with one of the most serious allegations a person can face.

He subsequently rebuilt his career, returning to Red Dwarf and later joining Coronation Street. Decades afterwards, however, he said the experience remained too painful to revisit and could still wake him at night.

The jury required less than two hours to acquit Craig Charles. The process had already taken nine months, three and a half of them inside prison. His guilt was never established. The punishment did not wait.

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