Owner of health food shop in Yorkshire market town of Helmsley is cleared of harassing woman who had an affair with her partner

Juliette Langton-White, 54, of Willow Rise, Kirkbymoorside, appeared at York Magistrates Court in June and pleaded not guilty to harassment.

The court heard that Langton-White, who ran an alternative therapies shop called Health Matters in Helmsley town centre, had ‘gone into certain areas and been getting in the path’ of the complainant, a woman who had had a relationship with Langton-White’s partner. She was accused of going into the woman’s workplace, the Fat Face store close to her own premises, but argued that on some of the occasions she had been making deliveries to customers’ addresses.

The hearing was also told that there were ‘investigative issues’ in the case, including that the police had failed to provide witness statements and that both officers and the Crown Prosecution Service had struggled to contact the complainant, who had not responded to communication from the courts.

Langton-White, who funded her legal representation herself, has since stopped work, while the complainant no longer lives or works in Helmsley.

Due to a dispute between the prosecution and defence, a further hearing before a judge took place on June 30, in which the CPS offered no evidence against Langton-White and the case was dismissed.

Her counsel had agreed to a restraining order on acquittal, and one was imposed for 12 months, preventing Langton-White from contacting the complainant or her husband.