In 2023 Black was assaulted in a London bar by a stranger, an attack that left him with a concussion and reportedly unable to work for two years. He pressed charges against his attacker, but the case rapidly devolved into a legal maelstrom: the alleged assailant filed a counter-claim, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) ended up charging Black with an assault. The charge did not survive scrutiny — the presiding judge dismissed the prosecution before Black's defence even began, citing inconsistencies and weakness in the accuser's evidence. The original attacker received only a legal caution. The episode was catastrophic for Black personally and professionally; he called the experience “malicious prosecution,” and he and his husband Tom Daley relocated their family out of the United Kingdom, saying they hoped never to endure “injustice that deep and damaging” again. The case became a high-profile instance of a victim of violence being ensnared in counter-litigation and prosecutorial error, and it had enduring consequences for Black’s career, health, and residency choices.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 2020s
A Night in London That Upended a Family: Dustin Lance Black's 2023 Assault, Malicious Prosecution, and Forced Exodus
Dustin Lance Black / 2020s
In 2023 Black was assaulted in a London bar by a stranger, an attack that left him with a concussion and reportedly unable to work for two years. He pressed charges against his attacker, but the case rapidly devolved into a legal maelstrom: the alleged assailant filed a counter-claim, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) ended up charging Black with an assault. The charge did not survive scrutiny — the presiding judge dismissed the prosecution before Black's defence even began, citing inconsistencies and weakness in the accuser's evidence. The original attacker received only a legal caution. The episode was catastrophic for Black personally and professionally; he called the experience “malicious prosecution,” and he and his husband Tom Daley relocated their family out of the United Kingdom, saying they hoped never to endure “injustice that deep and damaging” again. The case became a high-profile instance of a victim of violence being ensnared in counter-litigation and prosecutorial error, and it had enduring consequences for Black’s career, health, and residency choices.
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