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| Rape row man cleared of harassing grieving father | Rape row man cleared of harassing grieving father |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The son of a shipping magnate has been cleared of harassing the grieving father of a woman accused of making a false rape claim. | The son of a shipping magnate has been cleared of harassing the grieving father of a woman accused of making a false rape claim. |
| Alexander Economou, 37, was not guilty of a charge of harassment without violence against David de Freitas, District Judge Tan Ikram ruled. | Alexander Economou, 37, was not guilty of a charge of harassment without violence against David de Freitas, District Judge Tan Ikram ruled. |
| Instead he genuinely wanted to "put the record straight", the court heard. | Instead he genuinely wanted to "put the record straight", the court heard. |
| Eleanor de Freitas, 22, had accused Mr Economou of rape in 2013, but no case was brought against him. | Eleanor de Freitas, 22, had accused Mr Economou of rape in 2013, but no case was brought against him. |
| Mr Economou had responded to the rape claim by bringing a private prosecution against Ms de Freitas, which was then taken up by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Westminster Magistrates' Court heard. | |
| Ms de Freitas took her own life at her parents' home three days before the start of her trial for perverting the course of justice. | Ms de Freitas took her own life at her parents' home three days before the start of her trial for perverting the course of justice. |
| Mr Economou, of King's Road, west London, was accused of sending letters to Mr de Freitas, emailing his solicitor and setting up a website on which he published CCTV footage of Ms de Freitas buying sex toys, along with sexual images and claims that Ms de Freitas was a prostitute. | Mr Economou, of King's Road, west London, was accused of sending letters to Mr de Freitas, emailing his solicitor and setting up a website on which he published CCTV footage of Ms de Freitas buying sex toys, along with sexual images and claims that Ms de Freitas was a prostitute. |
| The judge said: "I find that the material that the defendant posted was upsetting; a grieving father was being drawn to information about his dead daughter which painted her as a call-girl and as a liar. That was surely distressing, even if all true." | The judge said: "I find that the material that the defendant posted was upsetting; a grieving father was being drawn to information about his dead daughter which painted her as a call-girl and as a liar. That was surely distressing, even if all true." |
| However, he said Mr de Frietas had campaigned in the media and continued asserting that his daughter's allegation of rape was true. | However, he said Mr de Frietas had campaigned in the media and continued asserting that his daughter's allegation of rape was true. |
| Judge Ikram said: "The fact is that the defendant, having previously been wrongly accused, remained in the firing line and accused of rape again and again." | Judge Ikram said: "The fact is that the defendant, having previously been wrongly accused, remained in the firing line and accused of rape again and again." |
| The court heard that Mr Economou's actions, while "embarrassing", were "calculated to counter the continuing incorrect assertions that the allegation of rape was true". | The court heard that Mr Economou's actions, while "embarrassing", were "calculated to counter the continuing incorrect assertions that the allegation of rape was true". |