Prosecutors drops sex charges at Chethams
A Manchester professor of music has been cleared of sex assault allegations
A violin tutor accused of raping a pupil while teaching at Manchester's renowned Chetham's School of Music has been cleared of any wrongdoing after prosecutors offered no evidence.
Wen Zhou Li, 61, was accused of committing historic sexual offences against a teenage girl in 1996 and 1997 but, following a review of the case, the charges have been dropped.
The Chinese national, from Northwich, Cheshire, was due to stand trial after being charged with one count of rape and two counts of indecent assault while working at the Manchester school.
A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokeswoman said: All cases are subject to continuous review by the CPS. Following advice from prosecuting counsel, the case was then subject to further review and the decision was taken to offer no evidence.''
Li, who joined Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham's in 1996 as violin professor and principal violin tutor was arrested as part of an investigation launched by Greater Manchester Police.
It followed the sex abuse conviction of Chetham's former music director Michael Brewer, who was jailed for six years in March 2013 after he was found guilty at Manchester Crown Court of indecently assaulting ex-pupil Frances Andrade, 48, more than 30 years ago when she was 14 and 15.
A week after giving evidence against him, Mrs Andrade killed herself at her home in Guildford, Surrey.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: In September 2014, Wen Zhou Li was charged with rape and two offences of indecent assault. A decision has been made by the CPS to discontinue charges against Li.
Greater Manchester Police has not received any new information relating to this investigation.''