Katie Price’s ex-husband Kieran Hayler has walked free after a jury cleared him of all charges following a trial at Lewes Crown Court. The verdict concludes a closely watched trial involving serious allegations against the 39-year-old. Hayler denied the allegations throughout the trial. He also accused Price of running a “smear campaign” against him. She strongly rejected that claim while giving evidence.
The verdict ends a courtroom battle that saw Hayler accuse Katie Price of a smear campaign
A jury cleared Hayler of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault involving a girl who was 13 at the time of the alleged incidents in 2016. Jurors also cleared him of four alternative counts of sexual activity with a child, according to The Independent.
The jury reached its verdict after nearly 15 hours of deliberation. Hayler appeared emotional as jurors delivered their decision. He bent forward after the judge told him he could leave the dock.
During the Kieran Hayler rape trial, the former stripper maintained that the complainant had fabricated the allegations. He accused Price of setting him up and described the case as a “smear campaign against me.”
Price strongly disputed his account. During her testimony, she denied feeling “angry and vengeful” toward her ex-husband. She also rejected suggestions that she had pursued a vendetta after their marriage ended.
That dispute became a major part of the proceedings. Price had already hit back at claims she held a vendetta against Hayler during an earlier day of testimony. She insisted she held no bitterness or “venom” toward him.
The court also examined messages that Price had exchanged with the complainant years earlier. Hayler argued that those messages showed Price was “coaching” the girl. Price denied influencing the allegations.
Hayler and Price married in 2013 and separated in 2018. They finalized their divorce in 2021.
The jury’s decision to acquit Kieran Hayler brings the trial to an end. The jury cleared Hayler of all eight charges he faced.
