A 58-year-old man charged with sexually assaulting a 45-year-old man had the case against him dismissed in court yesterday.

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was accused of committing the offence between January 2008 and June 2009.

He first appeared in Magistrates' Court in January when he denied the charge. He was due to stand trial there yesterday morning but the case was thrown out when the alleged victim failed to appear.

Prosecutor Larissa Burgess made an application to Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo to adjourn for a week, telling him: "We have not been able to make contact with the complainant."

Defence lawyer Shade Subair "vigorously" opposed the application. She said: "The Crown counsel is telling the court that she's never been in contact with the complainant. The Crown has had five months to get its ducks in a row. It's a very simple case. We have our witnesses present. What's supposed to happen in the next week? If this was a civil case, he'd be entitled to costs."

She argued her client should not be "dragged before the court" again because the Crown did not have the witnesses to proceed. "The defendant is privately funding his legal fees," she added.

Ms Burgess told Mr. Tokunbo that the Police officer investigating the case had spoken to the alleged victim on Thursday (May 6). "He said he was still interested in pursuing the matter," she said.

Mr. Tokunbo gave the prosecution just over an hour to get the complainant to court — but Ms Burgess was unsuccessful.

"I don't know whether he's dead or alive," she admitted at 11 a.m. "I don't know whether he's afraid."

She said she was unable to proceed with the trial. "I honestly cannot give the court any other reason, other than I do not know what the position of the complainant is," she said.

Mr. Tokunbo told her: "This matter has been set down since January 29. To not have a reason is not acceptable. The matter is dismissed."

The defendant still faces ten counts of sexual assault, all of which he denies, on a 19-year-old man between January and June last year. A trial date has been set for June and the accused remains on bail.