A former Nottinghamshire police officer accused of raping a girl almost 36 years ago has been found not guilty by a court.
A 50-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, accused Raymond Jeacock, 62, of raping her after taking her home from a police station when she was 14.
It took a jury of seven men and five women 15 minutes to reach a unanimous not guilty verdict after a five-day trial at Nottingham crown court.
Jeacock broke down in tears as the verdict was read out, removing his glasses to hold his face in his hands. Members of his family who had been present throughout the trial cried and hugged each other, as Jeacock said “thank you” and walked out of the defendant’s stand to join them.
In a statement his family said the verdict had brought into disrepute the disciplinary proceedings that had forced Jeacock to resign. The family would be looking for responses to unanswered questions, including why the case was brought to court, said Jeacock’s son Adam.
“Today it took the jury just 15 minutes to reach a unanimous decision, the same decision that was reached 36 years ago by the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions]. My dad is innocent,” he said in a statement.
“We, the innocent family, question why this ever came to court. The decision to take this weak case to court may have been influenced by a local MP, after the case had been initially rejected by the police. The case leaves these and other unanswered questions for our innocent family and we will be seeking clarification in due course.”
The court heard that the woman accused Jeacock of raping her in her bedroom after following her into the house on 13 December 1980. She had been arrested in a case of mistaken identity and taken home by the former police officer, who was 26 at the time.
Her father told the court that he had come back to his ex-wife’s house to check on his daughter, having been told the police would take her home from the police station. He said he had found Jeacock attempting to hide and there had been an altercation.
Jeacock maintained that he had taken the girl home because there were concerns about her father doing so. He said he had taken her alone because there were no female officers and had searched the property for stolen goods because of the girl’s relationship with a known criminal.
Jeacock was investigated for rape at the time after a complaint was made, but the office of the DPP ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to bring a case. After a disciplinary hearing in July 1981, Jeacock was “required to resign” because he had acted in a way “likely to bring discredit” to the police force.
The court heard that the former detective constable felt “a razor blade” had been taken to his life and he had “slid down a sewer” after losing his badge following the disciplinary hearing. After the criminal case was opened in 2014, he told police that it could not be right that the accusations were “extending the misery that was brought to my family”.
Jeacock worked for Derbyshire social services for more than 30 years after his resignation, first in security, then qualifying as a social worker. He also qualified as a swimming coach and worked with a young Rebecca Adlington.
Summing up for the defence, Jeremy Janes said Jeacock had made a mistake in taking the girl home alone, and had paid “a heavy price”. Since the incident 36 years ago Jeacock had “dusted himself off and got on with being a good father, a good husband, a good grandfather and a good man”, he said.
