'Heather assault' photographer cleared

Last Modified: 20 May 2008
Source: ITN

A photographer found guilty of assaulting Heather Mills as he took her picture has had his conviction quashed.

The move came after a court heard Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife was too stressed to attend his appeal hearing.

Jay Kaycappa, of The Hurdles, Fareham, Hampshire, was sentenced to a 140-hour community order for grabbing Ms Mills by the shoulder and taking a photo of her in a subway.

He was convicted of assaulting Ms Mills on July 5, 2006 and her friend Mark Payne the following evening after a three-day trial at Brighton Magistrates' Court last August.

Magistrates heard the incident took place as Ms Mills cycled to Brighton from her seafront home on the exclusive Western Esplanade in Hove, East Sussex, with her personal trainer Ben Amigoni, Mr Payne and his partner Michael Shilub.

The former model and anti-landmines campaigner told the court she hid in a subway to avoid the paparazzi, but was alarmed when she spotted a photographer at the subway's exit.

Magistrates handed down a 12-month community order to Kaycappa consisting of 140 hours unpaid work concurrent on each of the two counts of assault.

Father-of-three Mr Kaycappa was also ordered to pay Ms Mills £100 and Mr Payne £50, plus costs of £1,000. A three-day appeal against his sentence and conviction was due to start at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday.

But at an administrative hearing prosecutor Dale Sullivan said the Crown could not respond to the appeal because of difficulties in bringing witnesses to give evidence.

He said: "The position of Ms Mills is that she is refusing to give evidence. The Crown in her particular circumstance cannot serve a summons because we don't know where she is. Reading Press reports we believe she is in the east coast of America."

Judge Richard Brown said that a document had been received from a GP saying Ms Mills was suffering from stress.

The judge added that when the Crown tried to contact Ms Mills they were diverted to her sister who said there was no need for her to give evidence and there was no-one in a position to say whether or not she would be able to attend court.

In the cases of Mr Payne and Mr Shilub, Mr Sullivan said they were willing to appear via videolink from America but a legal technicality meant the court could not accept evidence on an appeal via a video link-up.

Outside court, Mr Kaycappa's solicitor Justin Rivett said: "I know that he will be disappointed not to have been given the opportunity to have his defence heard before the court and I endorse his belief that he had clear photographic evidence that proved he didn't commit the alleged offence on Ms Mills."

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