THE parents of a girl who said she was sexually assaulted say they feel let down after a trial against a mental health patient was dropped.

Police seized CCTV footage and charged Keith Butt, of no fixed address, after the 12-year-old alleged she was groped in her local corner shop in November.

When Butt appeared at Oxford Crown Court in September the Crown Prosecution Service let the charge lie on file and the 50-year-old – who denied sexual assault – was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

It means the case can be re-activated in the future and, in a letter sent to the girl’s parents, the CPS admitted there was sufficient evidence to pursue the case, but it was not in the public interest.

The parents said they were not consulted about the court’s decision.

The father, 45, said: “We’ve been let down by the courts. There’s no point reporting anything like this to police these days.

“We thought we’d done the right thing. She’s lost her confidence and won’t go to the shop alone now.”

The letter, sent to the family from prosecutor Brian Payne, said the case was dropped because of the defendant’s mental health problems and a conviction was not considered to be in the public interest.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said Judge Julian Hall indicated that, if convicted, Mr Butt would be ordered to continue with a programme of supervision and medical treatment without any additional penalty.

The spokesman added: “The nature of the offence was taken into consideration when reaching the decision.

“In addition, we also believed there was considerable interest in not putting the young victim through the stress of giving evidence in court.

“Taking all these factors into consideration we decided to ask for this case to lie on file.

“This means the case can be revived with the permission of the judge in the future if appropriate.

“We have written to the family to offer to meet them to clarify our decision.”