Nick Philippoussis’ child rape case dismissed due to his ‘vegetative state’

A judge has dismissed child sexual abuse charges filed against Nick Philippoussis due to the Australian tennis coach’s severe health conditions and “vegetative state”.

The 68-year-old faced life in prison after being accused of raping two young girls that he trained in San Diego.

He was placed behind bars in America after failing to come up with US $9.2 million (AU $11.7m) bail where he later suffered a massive stroke.

 Philippoussis has remained gravely ill since then and is reportedly being fed via a tube to stay alive.

It is for this reason a California judge has chosen to dismiss the charges, claiming he is not fit to stand trial, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“The doctor essentially said he is a step above a vegetative state,” the publication reported Deputy District Attorney Garret Wong said after the hearing.

“At this point just given the fact he is completely incapacitated and incompetent, we didn’t want this hanging over the head of the victims.”

Back in June there were already suspicions Mark  Philippoussis’ father would not stand trial as his health quickly deteriorated.

According to Nine News, he was not showing any signs of improvement following his stroke

“He’s still in the hospital, bed-ridden and more or less non-responsive,” Philippoussis’ lawyer Ryan Tegnelia said at the time, according to Nine News. “The indications are… that he will not be improving. At some point we’ll have to make the decision to dismiss the case or how to move forward.”

Prior to that Tegnelia had dismissed claims his client was faking illness to get out of appearing in court.

Read more: Mark Philippoussis’ father unlikely to face sexual assault charges

Philippoussis originally made headlines last July when it was alleged he assaulted two young girls.

They were believed to be nine at the time of the alleged incident, although Philippoussis pleaded not guilty to the serious charges against him. His victims allege the assaults occurred over the course of a year in a tennis complex, in Philippoussis’ own car and even in his own home.

His son, Aussie tennis star Mark has remained loyal since the accusations were announced, with Tegnelia previous saying that although the family was “in shock”, Mark was committed to providing comfort for his father.

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