A jury concluded 73-year-old Denis Coles was 'responsible for the act' after a 'trial of the facts'.
A man has been found responsible for the rape of an 11-year-old girl which took place in the 1970s. A judge had ruled that Denis Coles, who now lives in a care home in Rumney, Cardiff, was unfit to stand trial for medical reasons and therefore could not receive a criminal conviction. The case was instead heard as a 'trial of the facts' and the jury concluded the 73-year-old man was 'responsible for the act'. A trial of facts is a process that takes the place of a criminal trial.
His blood group was later found not to match the semen found at the scene and he was acquitted. Detective Constable Aimee Thomas from South Wales Police said the force launched a review into the case in 2019. 'Thanks to the application of advanced technology and additional forensic work, Dennis Coles was identified from DNA on the victim's underwear,' she added. Coles was arrested in July 2021 and charged in September 2022.
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