Update: Sabine due in court Monday

Thanks to the sharp-eyed reader who brought this to our attention: Sabine McNeill will be at Southwark Crown Court “not before 11:30 a.m.” on Monday, 26 February:

On 8 December, 2017, Sabine was charged with nine further counts of breach of restraining order, in addition to six counts of breach of restraining order and four counts of stalking causing fear of violence or serious alarm or distress with which she’d been charged on 10 November.

The stalking charges fall under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

The restraining order in question is the lifetime order which was issued to Sabine and her co-defendant Neelu Berry on 19 July 2016. That order states that she is

1. …prohibited from contacting directly or indirectly by herself or by any person acting as her agent, or by any means whatsoever:

ANY PERSON WHO TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF SABINE MCNEILL IS OR HAS BEEN CLERGY AT CHRISTCHURCH, HAMPSTEAD SQUARE, LONDON, NW3, OR THE STAFF OR A PUPIL AT CHRISTCHURCH PRIMARY SCHOOL, CHRISTCHURCH HILL, LONDON, NW3. …

3. Not to make public in any way, including on the internet by any blog or otherwise including by re-publication of material already made public before the making of this order;

A) Anything relating to any persons set out in Paragraph 1 above;
B) Any allegations of cannibalism, sexual child abuse or satanism, at any time at or in relation to Christchurch or Christchurch Primary School.

Sabine has pleaded not guilty to all 19 charges.

Readers will recall that Sabine was remanded in custody on 8 December, with a bail bond set at £20,000. Her friend Belinda McKenzie went on a crowd-funding campaign to raise the bond, which was accepted by the court on 15 December.

At that time, Sabine was released from prison to await trial, under increased and more closely defined restrictions. Among other things, she is currently prohibited from using the internet in any way; she must not publish any content, directly or indirectly; and she must not communicate with any media.

At a plea and trial preparation hearing on 11 January, Sabine’s trial date was set for 19 November 2018.

We don’t know the purpose of Monday’s court appearance, but we will be following the case closely, and will report as more information becomes available.

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We’d like to take this opportunity to remind readers that once charges have been laid against a suspect, it is against the law to speculate as to the outcome of the case. Thanks for your co-operation!