A string of child sex charges against Nottinghamshire councillor Jason Zadrozny have been dropped.
No evidence will be offered against Mr Zadrozny, 37, of Sutton Road, Kirkby, by the Crown Prosecution Service, it was announced on Monday (October 30).
Mr Zadrozny had always denied the offences, which spanned 24 charges, and were said to have happened between 2003 and 2007.
He sits on both Ashfield District Council and Nottinghamshire County Councils as an independent, and is a previous parliamentary candidate for Ashfield for the Liberal Democrats.
The decision to end the case comes two-and-a-half years after Mr Zadrozny was first arrested by Nottinghamshire Police.
He said: “I am of course delighted by the verdict – it was one we expected. I want to thank my family and friends who stuck by me,” adding he was planning to start legal action against the force.
“It has been the worst two-an-a-half years of my life. My Dad Richard died just weeks after my arrest – he never got to see me cleared and I would like to dedicate this to my dad. He didn’t give up on me.”
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: “Information provided by the defence last week led to the decision to not proceed with the case.
“Nottinghamshire Police takes all reports of sexual offences seriously and investigations are conducted impartially, without fear or favour.
“We have a duty to investigate all reports of sexual offences, no matter how long ago the offences occurred or who they are against. Victims should feel they will be believed by the police, who will then investigate thoroughly and impartially and follow where the evidence takes us.
“It is not the role of the police to decide on what should be prosecuted or determine guilt or innocence, which is done by a jury. We gather the available evidence and present it to the CPS, who consider the evidence and form a decision to charge a person, or not.”
