LONDON - HARRODS owner Mohammed Al Fayed will not be charged over a claim he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl in his store last year, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Tuesday.The allegations relate to claims made in a newspaper that the 76-year-old assaulted the girl last May. The CPS said there was 'no realistic prospect of conviction' after a thorough investigation.
In October, Fayed voluntarily attended a police interview under caution and denied the allegation against him.
'Having reviewed statements and other material submitted to us, we concluded that, in the light of the conflicting evidence and the absence of sufficiently reliable accounts of crucial events, there was no realistic prospect of conviction,' the CPS said in a statement.
Fayed said he was shocked by the way the investigation had been handled by police and launched an attack on the justice system.
'This should never be permitted in a democratic society. The leaks, the false stories, the innuendo all make a bad situation worse,' he said in a statement.
'I am shocked that the system can be manipulated in such a way. It cannot be right that an accused person is publicly named before proceedings are brought.'
The Egyptian-born businessman, who also owns Premiership soccer club Fulham, has had a difficult relationship with the British authorities ever since he was cold-shouldered over a request for a British passport.
He accused Prince Philip of ordering British spies to arrange the car crash in which Diana Princess of Wales and his son Dodi died in 1997.
His accusations were rejected at an inquest which concluded earlier last year that the couple had not been murdered. -- Reuters
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