The grandfather of footballer Jesse Lingard has died while awaiting a retrial for alleged child sex offences.
Kenneth Lingard, 87, stood trial at Liverpool Crown Court last year, accused of sexually abusing a girl from the age of five.
He was cleared of two counts of indecent assault by the jury, but verdicts could not be reached on the remaining 15 counts, it can now be reported.
At a hearing on Monday, Benjamin Aina, prosecuting, said: “On June 10 this year, Kenneth Lingard passed away and a death certificate has been produced.”
Lingard, of Northway, Warrington, had been due to face a retrial in May, but it was rescheduled for a date next year after the court heard he was in hospital.
The first trial heard the historic allegations about the pensioner were reported to police by the complainant in November 2022, following the release of a documentary in which Jesse Lingard spoke about his grandfather’s positive influence on his career.
The jury was told the woman messaged the midfielder after the programme was aired and said: “Shame on you Jesse Lingard. Loads of lies. Your grandad Kenneth Lingard molested and sexually abused me and you know he did.”
The former Manchester United and England player flew to the UK from South Korea, where he was playing for FC Seoul, to give evidence in his grandfather’s defence last April.
The footballer, who now plays for Brazilian team Corinthians, denied he had known about any alleged abuse, telling the court: “If I knew any of these allegations, I’d have cut ties with him years ago.”
Lingard, a former gymnastics coach and powerlifter, told the court the assaults “never happened”.
Addressing the court on Monday, Judge Katherine Pierpoint said: “In the circumstances of this case, having seen the evidence which shows the death of the defendant on June 10 this year, any existing indictments no longer have any legal effect unless the court is shown otherwise.”