Former US pilot cleared of kidnapping and sexually assaulting nine-year-old girl in London
29 October 2024, 13:21 | Updated: 29 October 2024, 13:39
A former US Air Force pilot has been cleared of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl.
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Robert Prussak, 57, approached the girl after she became separated from her family during a trip to London from France in April this year.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was standing outside Harrods department store, a trial at Isleworth Crown Court heard.
Mr Prussak then walked with her to his flat and was accused of giving her bitter-tasting water allegedly containing the antihistamine Benadryl, which left her tired, the court was told.
The pilot, of no fixed address, then allegedly took the girl to Hyde Park and sexually assaulted her.
Prussak was arrested on the same day after being spotted walking with the girl past the Israeli embassy by a Metropolitan Police officer who had been informed she was missing.
He was searched and said, "I was just trying to help her out", according to Sergeant Edward Lucas.
Prussak denied all the charges against him and a jury found him not guilty on Tuesday.
Judge Edward Connell told Mr Prussak, who broke down in the dock as he was acquitted, that he was free to go.
Jurors had asked if there was any DNA evidence of the sexual assault just over an hour after they started deliberating on Monday, and Judge Edward Connell said there was not.
He was found not guilty of three counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.
He was also cleared of one count of kidnapping, one count of committing an offence of kidnapping with an intent to commit a sexual offence, and one count of administering a substance with intent.
