Charges against 'hoax call' girl dropped
00:00, 13 February 2004
THE trial of a girl accused of making a hoax telephone call to the Kent Fire and Rescue Service has been abandoned.
The 10-year-old, from Faversham, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly made the call from a public phone box in Maidstone town centre.
She was charged under the Telecommunications Act 1984 of sending a false message causing annoyance or anxiety. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) withdrew the charges at Maidstone Youth Court.
A spokeswoman for the CPS said: "We felt that it wasn't in the public interest to proceed with the prosecution."
Prosecutors have to consider separately if there is enough evidence to enable a conviction and if a prosecution is in the public interest.
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