Oliver Mears, 19, spent more than two years on bail before his case was thrown out after the CPS reviewed the evidence
A judge has criticised police and prosecutors after a diary which supported the case of an Oxford student accused of rape emerged just days before his trial collapsed.
Oliver Mears, 19, spent two years on bail accused of raping and indecently assaulting a woman in July 2015.
But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to offer no evidence against him on the basis of fresh evidence, including a diary that supported his case, which was passed to the CPS just last week.
Yesterday the Crown Prosecution Service asked the judge to record a not guilty verdict after a review of evidence by a ‘new set of eyes’.
Today, prosecutor Sarah Lindop told Guildford Crown Court the case was ‘finely balanced’ from the start and the new material ‘tips the balance’ in favour of Mears.
However Judge Jonathan Black has now demanded the head of the CPS Rape and Sexual Offences (RASO) unit write to him within 28 days ‘with a full explanation of what went wrong’ before he decides whether any action is required ‘at CPS or police level’.
He hit out at ‘unnecessary delays’ which meant Mr Mears had the case ‘hanging over his head for two years’.

The student, who took time out from St Hugh’s College (pictured) because of stress, was accused of raping and indecently assaulting a woman in July 2015
The chemistry student, who took time out from St Hugh’s College because of stress, was accused of the rape weeks after his 17th birthday.
A file was passed to the CPS in May 2017 – almost two years after the alleged offences – and the decision to charge Mr Mears was made the following month.
Mr Mears, from Horley, Surrey, appeared at Guildford crown court in August last year where he enter pleas of not guilty.
His trial was scheduled to start on Monday, but the CPS reportedly contacted his lawyers on Wednesday to say they would not be putting forward any evidence.
The court heard Mears’ lawyers had been asking for the diary since October.
The court heard prosecutors had recently gathered ‘third party material’ that was ‘sensitive to the complainant’, as well as evidence from ‘digital devices’ from Surrey Police were ‘two significant areas’ that led to the decision to drop the case.
The judge added: ‘It seems to me in a case which is as finely balanced as you say it was, there have been unnecessary delays in investigating… leading to what seems to be a completely unnecessary last-minute decision in this case.
‘Both Oliver Mears and the complainant have had this matter hanging over their heads for two years in circumstances, had the investigation been carried out properly in the first instance, would not have led to this position.’


Mr Mears (right), from Horley, Surrey, appeared at Guildford crown court in August last year where he enter pleas of not guilty. The rape trial of Samson Makele, 28, (left) also collapsed on Monday after his defence team unearthed key images from his mobile phone, missed by police and the CPS

Last month the trial of 22-year-old criminology student Liam Allan, who was charged with six counts of rape, was halted after it emerged his accuser had sent hundreds of messages to friends that would have cleared him immediately
It comes after Scotland Yard announced a review of every one of its sex crime investigations, where a suspect has been charged, following the collapse of two rape prosecutions in a week.
Ms Lindop said: ‘There were some disclosure matters, but this is not a disclosure case per se.
‘There was a diary produced.
‘Part of that was disclosed, we asked for the full copy of it.’
The court heard Mears’ lawyers had been asking for the diary since October last year.
The prosecutor explained: ‘The police have been trying to secure that.
‘I have been made aware of it coming into the possession of the Crown last week.
‘That contains material that was not of assistance to the prosecution.’
She said the diary was not the only reason for the decision.
She added: ‘The situation is we were waiting for third party material, which included matters of a sensitive nature to the complainant in the case.
‘We were also awaiting confirmation from the police in terms of the digital devices that were secured.’
Surrey Police have launched an internal review of the force’s investigation.
A police spokesman said: ‘On January 5 2018, the CPS requested that we provide materials from the victim’s digital media.
‘We then contacted the victim, obtained the devices and provided the available material to the CPS on January 15.
‘Surrey Police deeply regrets mistakes made in the efficacy of investigations and will always seek to implement continual improvement and specific learning points. ‘
Surrey Police has launched a joint review of the case with the CPS.

Alison Saunders, head of the Crown Prosecution Service, insisted the justice system was working properly, despite a string of rape trials collapsing
A CPS spokesman said: ‘We keep all cases under continual review.
‘Following a review of this case, prosecutors were not satisfied there was a realistic prospect of conviction as the evidential test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors was not met.
‘We therefore decided to offer no evidence.’
Tory MP Anna Soubry wrote on Twitter: ‘Appalled at the ill-informed comments of DPP Alison Saunders. Have been longstanding problems with disclosure.’
Criminal barrister Nick Rhodes QC, accused Mrs Saunders of complacency.