Babes in Wood abuse case dropped

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/sussex/8107786.stm

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Police have dropped an investigation into an allegation the father of one of the Babes in the Woods murder victims sexually abused his daughter.

Barrie Fellows, 59, of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and Douglas Judd, 44, of Brighton, were arrested in April.

The strangled bodies of Mr Fellows' daughter Nicola, 10, and Karen Hadaway, nine, were found in Brighton in 1986.

Police said they would take no further action after questioning the men over the alleged abuse of Nicola.

'Not taking action'

Mr Fellows was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to rape Nicola and Mr Judd was arrested on suspicion of rape.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "When there are serious allegations made - in this case alleging that sexual crimes had been committed against a child - the public rightly expect us to investigate.

"After receiving information we arrested and interviewed two men. That process, and the inquiries that followed, have enabled us to decide we will not be taking action against either man."

The force said the investigation had been "quite distinct from the ongoing unresolved inquiry into the Wild Park murders, commonly known as the 'Babes in the Wood' murders".

Nicola and Karen, both from Moulsecoomb, were last seen alive on the afternoon of 9 October 1986. Their bodies were found at Wild Park the next day.

Russell Bishop, a labourer who knew both girls and their families and had helped in the search, was acquitted of the murders the following year.

After a review of the case, Sussex Police said in 2006 that there was not enough new evidence to prosecute any possible suspects.