ON JUNE 7 last year, grieving father Stuart Wilson was preparing to place a single sunflower in Pasture Street, Grimsby, where his 21-year-old daughter Claire, and her unborn child, had been murdered three years before.
But Mr Wilson never made it to the site where Alan McMullen had brutally stabbed the young woman on her way to work – because he was visited by police and arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing four children on various occasions between 1983 and 2003.
What followed was eleven months of "hell", with Mr Wilson eventually being charged with one count of rape, one of attempted rape, 16 of indecent assault and one charge of supplying heroin.
Despite strenuously denying the charges, the case went to Grimsby Crown Court, where his four alleged "victims" shared tales of abuse at the hands of Mr Wilson with a judge and jury.
Yesterday, the jury finally returned its verdict – clearing Mr Wilson, 53, of Cleethorpe Road, Grimsby, of all charges, except the drugs offence.
Speaking to the Grimsby Telegraph shortly afterwards, he said: "The feeling of relief is just incredible. It has been a living nightmare.
"I'd convinced myself I was going to prison because the allegations were so horrendous that a custodial sentence was the only option if I was convicted.
"I really thought I hadn't got a chance. Offences of this nature repulse me and I thought that because of the nature of the allegations, people would just assume I was guilty.
"I feel like I've been carrying a bag of cement around on my shoulders since last June and now it has been lifted I'm just looking forward to moving on with my life."
But Mr Wilson says he fears his reputation may be tarnished forever because of the allegations.
He believes the law needs to be changed so that people accused of committing sexual offences cannot be identified in the media until they are proven guilty.
At present, only those who claim to have been sexually assaulted are given automatic, life-long anonymity.
Mr Wilson, who is now working as a bus driver, explained: "As soon as I was given a date for my first court hearing, I knew it would end up in the media.
"The people who made these claims get anonymity for life, but my photograph and name has been plastered all over the press.
"It's no disrespect to the media, but I think things need to be changed so that people accused of crimes like this remain anonymous until they are proven guilty.
"If people have done horrendous things to children then they deserve to be named and shamed, but in cases like mine where the allegations are completely made up, it can tarnish your name forever."
Grandfather Mr Wilson – who was born and raised in Grimsby and attended Grange and Western Schools – said: "My personal life has really suffered over the past 11 months because I've been too afraid to talk to anybody about what was happening for fear that they would judge me.
"They say that if you throw enough mud at someone then eventually it sticks and that's what I thought people would believe.
"I've been in turmoil and paranoid that everybody I met must have known what I'd been accused of.
"How could I even think about starting a relationship with something like that hanging over me? Allegations like that lead to a natural, and completely understandable, response of revulsion."
Mr Wilson says the allegations and court case left him in despair after the tragedy of Claire's death.
He added: "I'll never forget the moment I was arrested – I was completely gobsmacked. It was the anniversary of Claire's death and I just couldn't believe what was happening.
"I lost my sister in April 2009, then Claire was killed and then this happened. I just kept on wondering what else life could throw at me."
Mr Wilson, who has worked on both Grimsby and Immingham docks over the years, including a stint with DFDS, was honest in court about his previous criminal convictions.
He said: "I've done bad things in my life, but I've always put my hands up and admitted them straight away.
"I physically couldn't have done the things I was accused of doing in these allegations. I just don't have it in me.
"I did turn to drugs after what happened to Claire. It probably wasn't the right thing to do, but that was how I chose to handle it and I've been clean for a long time now."
This year, on the fourth anniversary of Claire's death, Mr Wilson will be a free man, able to place a humble sunflower – Claire's favourite bloom – at the site where his daughter was murdered.
And as he walks away from the sad scene as a free man, he is adamant that life will take him "onwards and upwards". An impressively brave attitude after so much tragedy and uncertainty.
Do you think people accused of sexual offences should be allowed to remain anonymous unless proven guilty? E-mail your opinions to viewpoint@grimsbytelegraph.co.ukSuspended prison sentence for supplying and injecting a woman with heroin
STUART Wilson and his family reacted with dignified delight when he was cleared of 18 of the 19 charges against him.
The jury unanimously cleared him of three counts of indecent assault, before returning majority not guilty verdicts on a further six counts of indecent assault, one of rape and one of attempted rape of girls under 16.
After the jury was unable to reach a majority verdict on the remaining seven counts of indecent assault, Judge David Tremberg dismissed the jury.
Mr Wilson was formerly declared not guilty in respect of the charges after prosecutor Jonathan Sharp told the court he did not wish for the matter to be retried and that the Crown therefore offered no evidence in respect of the matters.
Before being discharged, the jury had found Mr Wilson guilty of supplying and injecting a woman – who cannot be named for legal reasons – with heroin in 2003, although the court ruled her claims he had done so in exchange for sex – could not be proved and were therefore also dismissed.
Sentencing him to a 12-month prison term, suspended for two years, Judge Tremberg said one of the mitigating features in the case has been the fact he had spent almost a year with the prospect of spending a "significant portion" of the rest of his life behind bars hanging over him.
He added: "You are 53 years of age and fall to be sentenced for a single count of supplying heroin.
"During the course of the trial it has emerged that from 2003 you had an addiction to heroin and, therefore, you of all people know what such an addiction can do and how it can wreck lives.
"In 2003, heroin had (the woman) in its grip and it is against this background she pleaded with you to help her get some and you did so, taking her to a dealer and giving her money – £10 or £20 – and then injecting her with heroin."
He added that while highly addictive, the use of street heroin was also "dangerous" and that there were "plenty of examples" of users fatally overdosing after using the drug.
