FORMER Griffith mayor Mike Neville will not face a third trial on a string of sexual assault charges after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) announced it would drop the matter.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
His matter will come before Sydney District Court this morning for mention but The Area News can reveal the DPP will formally elect not to prosecute.
"In accordance with our prosecution guidelines, the DPP will not re-try this matter," a DPP spokeswoman said yesterday.
Mr Neville, 53, declined to comment on the news but said he would release a formal statement in the coming days.
After two trials and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, it is not known whether Mr Neville - a serving Griffith councillor - will seek to recoup legal costs.
He was charged on May 19, 2010 on eight sexual and indecent assault charges allegedly committed on two female clients while a Griffith probation and parole officer.
The jury in his first trial, at Wagga District Court, was unable to reach a verdict on all eight charges.
The DPP elected to re-try the matter and a subsequent Sydney District Court jury last month found Mr Neville not guilty on five charges and delivered a hung verdict on three charges.
Mr Neville has maintained his innocence since being charged in 2010.
