• Prosecutor offers no evidence of assault and abandons case
• Winger waited in Mercedes parked round the corner

Raheem Sterling had a charge of common assault dropped on Monday after a witness failed to turn up to court.

Sterling, 18, did not have to appear at Liverpool magistrates’ court and the case was dismissed when the prosecutor Rob Jones offered no evidence.

The Liverpool winger had been accused of assaulting a woman in Toxteth, Liverpool, last November. The teenager, reportedly paid £30,000 a week, denied the allegation of assault and had hired Stuart Driver QC, a top barrister, to defend him.

Sterling’s legal costs will now be paid for by the taxpayer so he will not be “out of pocket”, the court heard.

The case has been before Liverpool magistrates’ court on three previous occasions, none of which the Premier League winger attended.

On Monday Sterling is understood to have waited in a silver Mercedes people-carrier on a street around the corner from the court and did not enter the building for the 10am case.

The Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, Sterling’s agent and other club officials also waited in the car until news came from court that the case had been dropped.

The prosecutor waited until 10.45am until abandoning the case, when the witness failed to attend court. The court heard the allegation was of a minor common assault and it was not in the public interest to force alleged victims and witnesses to come to court for such a matter.

Liverpool FC declined to comment on the case.

A news article on 2013-05-20 11:37:00 from: The Guardian

Read the full article here.

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