# Kieran Hayler acquitted in child sex offences trial; judge criticises Katie Price's evidence A Lewes Crown Court jury found Hayler not guilty on all eight counts. The judge warned jurors to disregard some of Price's remarks, but the verdict does not establish that the complaint was fabricated. By The Signal Edition | Entertainment / Legal Published: 2026-10-23T21:20:00Z Updated: 2026-10-23T21:20:00Z Canonical: https://www.thesignaledition.com/article/gp15qy-kieran-hayler-acquitted-katie-price-trial-2026-10-23 Image: https://www.thesignaledition.com/media/61b7629daf6ddf0287f9179c235c8347.jpg (Kieran Hayler pictured outside court; credit: PA Wire/PA Images via ITV News) ## Summary - A Lewes Crown Court jury acquitted Kieran Hayler of three rape charges, one sexual assault charge and four alternative charges of sexual activity with a child. - Judge Mark van der Zwart rejected a defence request to discharge the jury over Katie Price's testimony, but warned jurors to disregard prejudicial remarks. - The not-guilty verdicts do not prove that the complainant's report was false. ## The verdict Kieran Hayler, the former husband of media personality Katie Price, was acquitted at Lewes Crown Court on Thursday, Oct. 22, of charges involving a complainant who was 13 at the time of the alleged incidents in West Sussex in 2016. The jury found him not guilty of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. It also cleared him of four alternative counts of sexual activity with a child, ITV News and The Independent reported. [1](https://www.itv.com/news/2026-10-22/katie-prices-ex-husband-kieran-hayler-cleared-of-raping-13-year-old-in-2016) [2](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/crime/kieran-hayler-katie-price-court-b3071423.html) The verdicts followed nearly 15 hours of deliberation, according to ITV. Hayler, 39, had denied the allegations throughout the proceedings. After the verdict, he thanked the jury for its consideration and said he wanted to rebuild his life. The charges have ended in acquittals; there was no conviction on any of the eight counts considered by this jury. [1](https://www.itv.com/news/2026-10-22/katie-prices-ex-husband-kieran-hayler-cleared-of-raping-13-year-old-in-2016) [2](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/crime/kieran-hayler-katie-price-court-b3071423.html) ## The dispute over Price's testimony Price gave evidence during the trial. Hayler contended that the allegations were fabricated as part of a smear campaign by his former wife, an accusation that must be attributed to his defence rather than stated as fact. Price denied being angry and vengeful towards him. Their dispute featured in testimony, but the jury's task was to decide the criminal charges against Hayler, not to determine whether Price had committed wrongdoing. [1](https://www.itv.com/news/2026-10-22/katie-prices-ex-husband-kieran-hayler-cleared-of-raping-13-year-old-in-2016) [2](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/crime/kieran-hayler-katie-price-court-b3071423.html) ITV reported that, after Price's first day of evidence, Hayler's defence asked Judge Mark van der Zwart to discharge the jury, arguing her remarks had prejudiced the trial. The defence barrister used the phrase 'tsunami of prejudice' and accused Price of trying to derail proceedings; those were submissions by counsel, not factual findings by the judge. The prosecutor challenged the defence account. Some of the underlying evidence remains subject to reporting restrictions. [1](https://www.itv.com/news/2026-10-22/katie-prices-ex-husband-kieran-hayler-cleared-of-raping-13-year-old-in-2016) The judge rejected the request to discharge the jury and later instructed jurors to disregard certain remarks by Price. In explaining his decision, he described her as a witness with a personal agenda who might say something prejudicial. His ruling addressed the risk to a fair trial from that testimony. It did not amount to a determination that the complainant invented the allegations or that Price arranged a false report. [1](https://www.itv.com/news/2026-10-22/katie-prices-ex-husband-kieran-hayler-cleared-of-raping-13-year-old-in-2016) ## What the acquittal means A not-guilty verdict means the prosecution did not secure convictions on the charged offences. It should not be recast as a separate judicial finding about why the complaint was made. The complainant is not identified here. The Independent reported that she contacted the NSPCC in 2021, after which the matter was referred to police; Hayler was interviewed in 2022 and consistently denied the allegations. [2](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/crime/kieran-hayler-katie-price-court-b3071423.html) ITV reported that Sussex Police said it would consult the complainant, witnesses and partner organisations before determining any next steps. That statement should not be read as an announcement of a new investigation or a decision to charge anyone else. For now, the legally established outcome is Hayler's acquittal, alongside the judge's reported directions about Price's evidence and the competing accounts given during the trial. [1](https://www.itv.com/news/2026-10-22/katie-prices-ex-husband-kieran-hayler-cleared-of-raping-13-year-old-in-2016) [2](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/crime/kieran-hayler-katie-price-court-b3071423.html) ## Reporting sources 1. [ITV News: Katie Price's ex-husband Kieran Hayler cleared of raping 13-year-old in 2016](https://www.itv.com/news/2026-10-22/katie-prices-ex-husband-kieran-hayler-cleared-of-raping-13-year-old-in-2016) (2026-10-22) 2. [The Independent: Katie Price's ex-husband found not guilty of raping teenage girl](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/crime/kieran-hayler-katie-price-court-b3071423.html) (2026-10-22)