Prosecutors have abandoned a stalking case against a senior public servant, withdrawing the only charge against him on Tuesday.
Their case against 37-year-old Neal Kretschmann fell apart last month after a magistrate ruled prosecutors couldn't rely on vital CCTV evidence.
The footage purported to show a man - in the prosecution's case, Mr Kretschmann - outside a woman's Ainslie home, where police alleged he had loitered on eight occasions between January 11 and March 26 last year.
They alleged the man often hid in bushes outside the home and, on one occasion, the woman awoke to see him staring at her from outside her bedroom window about 1.50am.
Mr Kretschmann, whose lawyer Daniel Hannay described him as "a public servant of great distinction and honour", has always vehemently denied the allegations.
On Tuesday, he was exonerated in the ACT Magistrates Court when prosecutors withdrew a stalking charge against him.
In a statement, Mr Hannay said he would be seeking more than $120,000 in court costs on Mr Kretschmann's behalf.
He said the costs would account for, among other things, two bail applications prosecutors opposed.
He said the prosecution's submissions at these bail applications had been "reckless", "made without substance", and "contributed to the unwarranted extra-curial punishment exacted on the defendant".
"At the time the prosecutor made submissions on why bail should be refused, no analytical probity had been conducted as to the actual strength of the prosecution case other than apparently some bald assertions by the complainant," Mr Hannay said.
"The prosecution case as to the identification of the 'stalker' was tenuous and could not possibly be established beyond reasonable doubt, hence the necessity for the Crown to rely upon CCTV footage which was subsequently excluded by the magistrate.
"Incidentally, the Crown case at this point on 'identification' was circumstantial and, at best, very weak."
Magistrate Louise Taylor on Tuesday said the Australian Federal Police would have to pay Mr Kretschmann's court costs.
Just how much they will pay will be determined at a later date.
